by Hayden James
“This thing caught me off guard,” started Eric. “I’ve never been much of a preppier, but I’ve always tried to be prepared. Mainly more of a survivalist. But now I see the practicality in keeping my own homestead. Who knows how long we’ll be like this.”
“I have no clue. But it does not seem to get any better,” affirmed William, making sure not to spread the rumor he heard of what has happened. He did not want to spread more fear than necessary.
Vince and Gary returned with four shovels and the mattock. “Great, guys. Let’s get started,” said Eric, digging right alongside the three men. “Today has been a hot one, and I don’t think it will let up tomorrow. But the sooner I get this root cellar finished, the sooner I can store the crops that I’ve planted. I also plan on canning and jarring.”
“Sounds like a good idea,” replied William.
The men dig the prescribed outline that was planned out by stakes and twine. Eric planned the root cellar to be eight feet by eight feet with stairs leading down to the ten-foot below ground cellar.
Several hours went by, and all four men worked feverishly to complete as much as they could. Eric paused for a moment and surveyed how much they accomplished. “We got a lot farther along than I though we would,” he said admiring the beginning of the root cellar.
“Yeah, we should have this finished early tomorrow and then we can start on the fence,” replied Vince.
Eric stopped and set down his shovel. “You know you guys are welcome to stay the night here if you’d like. You can keep your van in the driveway,” offered Eric.
“That’s very kind of you,” replied William. “We would like that.”
“Well, daylight is almost up. Why don’t you drive me back to the garage so I can lock up and we can get the girls?”
“All right. Gary and Vince can start a fire while we are away.”
“Great guys. I have a fire pit over by the creek. Help yourselves to firewood and paper,” replied Eric as he followed William around the house and over to the camper van.
William drove over to the garage, following Eric’s directions since he did not know how way around Victoriaville. He pulled into the gas station and garage and was met by his three daughters before he could turn off the vehicle.
“Dad!” Shouted Natasha.
“Natasha, come here,” he shouted back, picking her up and twirling her around before placing a kiss on her cheek.
Shortly after William hugged each of his daughters, Rachel came out from the counter of the gas station. “How’d it go?” William asked.
“It was fine. Quiet. Sold a few gallons of gas to three different customers. That was about it,” she answered.
“Well good,” replied William. Relieved that the work at the garage was easy and he became more confident in the deal they made.
Eric went inside the gas station to lock up and to shut the bay door. He returned shortly, “It’s all locked up. We can head back home now. Oh, Rachel, how’d it go?”
“It was quiet. Made a few fuel sales. That was about it,” she answered.
“Since you guys are going to take a lot of my fuel, tomorrow I will put a sign on the front that says we are out of gas. That way I can pay you guys with what is left. Believe me, I’d rather have a proper barrier to my property and a cool place that I can store fruits and vegetables than to keep taking cash for petrol. I don’t even think the stuff is good anymore.”
The daughters quickly got into the van without much direction. They waited for Rachel, William, Dr. Tate and Eric to stop talking in the parking lot of the gas station. A few moments later, William got in the driver’s seat. “You girls seem eager to get out of here?”
“We are just hungry,” answered Madison.
“I see,” replied William, suspicious of what was really going on.
“Where’s Gary and Vince?” Addison asked.
“They’re back at Eric’s house. They were working on the fire as we were leaving.”
“Oh, good,” responded Maddy.
Rachel, Dr. Tate, and Eric piled into the van and William drove back to the house.
As William pulled into the driveway of Eric’s house he stated, “I did not realize that you are on the outskirts of Victoriaville.”
“Right. I was able to get a larger land plot than if I lived closer in town. At the time, I wasn’t sure what I was going to do with all of the land, but now I am grateful for it,” answered Eric.
They went around the house to where they found Gary and Vince who had the fire during at a ready rate. “You two are really good at building fires,” announced Eric as he monitored the fire.
Vince answered back, “We’re even better at putting them out.”
Eric had a puzzled look on his face and William interjected, “They are firefighters.”
“Oh, I get it now,” replied Eric.
“We’ve been relying on them to build the camp fires since we me up,” confirmed Rachel.
“Hey, William. Can you help me get the meal together?” Eric asked, changing he subject.
“Sure, what do you need?” William asked.
“I will need help over at the creek, follow me,” said Eric as he motioned to the back of his property to where the creek was.
The two men walked over there and on the way William said, “This is a great property. It’s perfect for a homestead.”
“You think so? I am just sorry I did not have the root cellar or some other fallout shelter built before. Who would have thought those things would have come in handy,” relented Eric.
“This property is similar to my dad’s place,” said William. “He has a stream that backs up to his property.” William cut himself short, not to divulge too much information, but wanted to encourage Eric with his endeavors.
“I’m glad I have this creek,” Eric said as they arrived to the edge of the running water. Eric stuck his hand in the cool waters of the creek and fished out a net with twelve beers in it.
“Great idea!” William said, practically salivating at the thought of cold brews.
“Care for a silver bullet?” Eric asked.
“Of course!” William exclaimed.
“I love the taste of the Rockies. I’m a sucker for good marketing.”
William chuckled at the Eric’s susceptibility to clever tag lines. “Rachel would get a kick out of that, she’s in marketing.”
“I’ll have to tell her then,” replied Eric. Then he went and checked the fishing lines that he had going into the water from poles that were staked into the ground. “Looks like we will have enough fish for everyone,” exclaimed Eric.
“You caught a fish!” Shouted William, excited to have a fish meal, his first in days rather than eating canned meat.
“Why do you think I’m so excited to that my property backs up to a decent size creek? This is how I’ve been eating this whole time,” answered Eric.
“Just fantastic,” William muttered shaking his head and almost breaking down into tears. In disbelief, he then said, “Tonight, I’m going to drink cold beer and eat fresh fish? I think I died and went to Heaven.”
As William helped Eric pull in the fish from the four fishing poles, he took a moment to look at his family. There he saw Gary and Vince talking with his daughters, Maddy and Addy close by. He witnessed Addy try to grab Vince’s hand and hold it when she came up from behind him. He quickly pulled away. Addy looked disappointed from William’s vantage point. His heart broke for Addy, but he knew it was for the best. Their focus was survival, but try explaining that to an adolescent girl.
William and Eric returned to the fire with the four decent-sized fish. “Hey Rach, look at what we have,” exclaimed William.
“What do you have,” replied Rachel, not even looking in his direction but appearing to be hypnotized by the dancing flames of the campfire.
“We have fish and beer!” William shouted, hoping to put her in a good mood. It was apparent to him that she was growing tired of living on the go and really
needed rest. They really needed to find Liam and to get to Dwight’s as soon as they could.
Rachel picked her head up, “Fresh fish or canned?” she asked.
“Hon, it’s freshly caught fish,” replied William.
Eric took two spits and skewered the fish on them. He then set them onto of the open flames and turned them ever few moments.
“Fresh fish?” Rachel muttered. “We can have fresh fish tonight?”
William heard Rachel and whispered, “And cold beer,” as he leaned over to her and kissed her on the nose.
After they ate, everyone who was old enough took part in the cold beer, and they relied around the fire. Eric broke the silence, “How do you think life will be like if they never restore the power grid?”
Gary answered, “It won’t be bad if it’s like this every night.” Gary and Vince seemed to enjoy the camaraderie with Eric, who was closer to their ages. Despite them not encouraging his daughters, they seemed to be content. William was appreciative that the two adhered Rachel’s warning. He did not believe it until he witnessed it with his own eyes. Seeing the two brothers practically ignore the twins was the highlight of his night and it even trumped the fresh fish and cold beer.
Rachel gave her opinion, “This isn’t so bad,” she said. “I enjoy spending more quality time with my family. Even though I worked from home, I was constantly working, taking calls, replying to emails. I was present, but I was not really there when it came to my family. I would be there when everyone came home from school, and I would make sure everyone had clean close and a cooked meal, but my mind was constantly going about my boss’ clients. Even though this has been a completely new way of living, and we have not taken one day for granted since the power has been out. I have never been more present. I just can’t check my email on my phone when William is telling me yet another boring story. I have to listen.”
William chimed in, “If every night is like this, where we talk and connect as humans again. I could really get used to this. I could forget about my old life and I could embrace this new way of living.”
Chapter Eight
Liam Conner
Waterston, Tennessee
8:02 AM
“Clutch, shift, throttle,” muttered Liam to himself. “Clutch, brake, shift,” he said right after, seeing that Prue led them off of the highway.
They came to the end of the off-ramp and made a right-hand turn. There, Liam’s eyes were met with the National Guard. “Hey, Prue! Look, it’s the Guard!” Liam shouted, excited to see any form of government aid.
“Oh, thank heaven,” Prue said. Liam could barely hear her over the roar of the motorcycles, but he could feel her relief. The two road to the barricade that blocked the remainder of the road. They came to a stop at the edge of the barricade.
“Cut your motors,” belted the Guardsmen who stood watch. Both Prue and Liam did as they were ordered, cutting the engines off and stopping the echoing rumble of the engines.
Liam spoke first, “You are the first government official we have seen in days. Can you tell us what is going on?”
“We were brought into Tennessee to ensure an orderly exit. They have evacuated Nashville,” replied the Guardsmen.
“Evacuated?” Prue asked.
“Right. Nashville is under a mandatory evacuation. The entire city has been looted and ravaged by fires. Many are not aware of the evacuation, but we are doing our best to get the word out. Now, where are you two headed?”
“To Tucker Hallow. It’s a few miles away from Townsend. That’s where my grandfather lives,” answered Liam.
Prue nudged Liam and pointed to the other road that south toward Alabama, “Look, there’s another barricade for travelers heading south. It looks like we have to check in at these check points,” concluded Prue.
The Guardsman overheard Prue and said, “It’s the only way we are tracking people and learning who survived and who did not. That way, if people are looking for one of their loved ones, we can let them know which direction they are traveling.
“Do you have any idea what happened?” Liam asked the National Guardsman.
“The only report that I was told from my higher-ups is that this thing is a CME,” replied the Guardsman.
“CME?” Prue asked.
Liam turned to Prue and said, “Coronal Mass Ejection. This was an attack from our sun. It brought down the entire power grid with electromagnetic radiation,” he explained.
Liam heard what he said to Prue and then something clicked. He turned to the Guardsman and said, “But, even a large CME would not destroy all of our electronics. There has to be more to it?”
The Guardsman shrugged his shoulders and said, “That’s what I was briefed on a few days ago. I could imagine one big enough could fry electronics. All I know is that the ionized particles and the electromagnetic radiation could kill electronics.”
Liam said with a smirk on his face, “If they were plugged into the wall. I’m finding it hard to believe that a CME alone would kill battery operated devices.”
“Just telling you what I was told. You asked. I’m only the messenger.”
“Any idea how much we will be without power?” Prue asked.
“From what I was told by the higher-ups, it will take definitely a few weeks before everything is back up and running.”
Another Guardsman who appeared to be interested in the conversation that Liam and Prue were having with the Guardsman who kept watch over the barricade walked over. He said, “I couldn’t help but overhear you guys talk about what is going on.”
“Oh, yeah. We’ve heard nothing for days,” responded Liam.
“Again, I must admit, I was listening to your conversation. It seems you might know a thing or two about nuclear radiation,” the second Guardsman said to Liam.
“Oh, well. I mean, my grandpa has spoken of them before. He was always preparing for a HEMP attack from a rogue nation or something like that. He broke down the E1 and E3 waves for me one day. I can barely remember what he had told me,” answered Liam.
“Well, you seem to know enough. Between you and me, I know this guy told you that they will have the grid up and running like nothing ever happened in a few weeks. Well, if you ask me, and I sat in on these briefings. It’s looking like it will be more like a few months if not years.”
Liam was astounded by this Guardsman’s estimation. “A few months or even years? No, that can’t be,” replied Liam.
“Hey, quiet!” the first Guardsman said to the second. “You know you could get us into trouble. Especially if anyone heard what you’re saying. You cannot go around and spread BS like this.”
Liam got the feeling that perhaps this was not hyperbole coming from the second Guardsman, but he in fact was trying to tell him that this thing was more disastrous than the first one let on. Rather than get him in trouble, he said, “Oh, well I’m sure it will all work out. I’m sure that you guys are doing the best that you can.”
“Make sure you help yourselves to water,” the second Guardsman said. “We are handing it out over there,” he said, pointing to a water station with two National Guardsmen handing out water to travelers passing through.
Liam looked the second Guardsman in the eye and said, “Thanks. I really mean that.” With a wave toward the Guardsman, Liam took Prue by the crook of the arm and guided her over to the water station.
“You don’t really believe what that man said, do you? Months or Years before we get power back? Come on!” Prue whispered too Liam as he hastily guided her over to the water station.
“Shhhh!” Liam whispered, not wanting her voice to carry over to the checkpoint that they just left.
As they collected a few bottles of water from the water station Liam whispered, “I don’t think that was BS. There is something serious that has happened, and it is not good. I think the second man was giving us more of a realistic picture than the first one was. To be honest, I thought restoring the power grid within a few weeks was optimistic.”
“But, I’m optimistic,” argued Prue.
“I know,” replied Liam, looking down at the ground and not wanting to kill the hope that she had.
“Oh look, we can pick up some protein bars too,” interrupted Prue as she headed back to the water station to collect a few protein bars.
When she returned to Liam who stood there, processing the information, she took Chewy out of her backpack. He had been riding in his backpack carrier while she rode the loud bike. “I need to feed him. Guess he’ll have his favorite, freeze-dried chicken,” she said, pulling him out of the carrier and giving him some contents of an already opened package. Chewy ate whatever Prue fed him nearly instantaneously.
Liam interrupted the cute interaction between Prue and her fierce Chihuahua and said, “Before we head through the checkpoint, I would like to get some camping gear. We don’t have the shelter of the car anymore, and I would like to be able to set up camp if we need to.”
“Seems like a good idea,” replied Prue, looking up at him while she still fed Chewy.
“Thankfully, it is nice weather now, so we can sleep outside without protection if we need to, but I’d rather have a tent if possible. Let’s go into town here. Once we get the camping gear, then we will register with the checkpoint and inform them of our destination,” explained Liam.
“Sounds good to me,” Prue replied, gathering up Chewy and placing him back in his pack. The two kicked their bikes to start them up, and then they rode into the small town.
“Gees, I can’t feel my bottom,” muttered Liam, the sounds of the motorcycle engine nearly deafening his ears. Riding a motorcycle was making Liam grow weary, and he nearly could not take anymore of the vibrations of the engine making his lower half numb. He pointed to a restaurant that appeared to be open, since they were grilling outside.