Samantha had been startled by the loud sounds and sudden chaos and she began to sob. She pressed the right side of her face into her mother’s back and covered her left ear with her hand as if she was trying to block out the loud ringing that was trapped inside her ears. With her free arm, she held on tightly to Emma, who was now trying to match Alex’s pace.
“Why are we going this way?” Erik demanded as he pedaled furiously to keep up with Alex and Emma.
“If that guy saw the way we came from, they might think we went back that way and look for us there,” Alex said, panting. “Either way, if we headed back that way, they might know which general direction we were trying to go in and they could easily cut us off at the other end of their street, where it intersects with the main road. When I got chased last month, I was able to avoid the group of teenagers by using their street as a detour, but I’m guessing the people back there know the area a little bit better and know how to take advantage of the choke points. They are organized enough to secure that block using the cars, so I have to assume they have some tactical awareness.”
A couple of blocks away, they turned again to try and make it harder for anyone to follow them. Up ahead there was a small auto body shop, which gave Alex an idea.
“Head for that auto body shop. We need to get off the road,” Alex said. “We’re moving too slowly and can’t afford to get caught out here in the open. We also need to make sure that we weren’t followed. I don't want to be leading any gangs back to the neighborhood.”
“Sounds good,” Erik agreed. He was out of breath and his legs were burning from the intensity of riding as hard as he was, while trying to pull the extra weight.
Emma was quiet, but Erik could see the nervous look on her face, when she looked back at him. Samantha just held on to her mother’s waist and had her face turned in the other direction. He was sure that the loud noise from his rifle had startled her, though.
Alex rode his bike off the street into the small parking lot in front of the shop and then rode around the side to the back of the garage, where the group finally stopped to catch their breath. There was a single door that had been broken, likely from looters checking for supplies. He couldn’t imagine an auto body shop being a popular place for those that were hungry or thirsty, but there might have been some out there hopeful enough in the first few days after the disaster to wonder if they could simply pop in a new battery or something to get their cars working again.
Most people had never even heard of an electromagnetic pulse, so they would have been unaware of the effects of the EMP on the computer systems of most modern cars. Even if someone was lucky enough to have an older working car that wasn’t affected by the event, it would be a futile attempt to try and drive anywhere with all of the stalled cars clogging all of the roads. So anyone attempting to fix their broken car would just be delaying the inevitable acceptance of their new way of life, for the immediate future.
Alex directed the others to wait outside and he grabbed his shotgun and entered the shop to make sure it was clear. The place had been ransacked and items were strewn all over the floor, but otherwise it was structurally safe and appeared to be completely abandoned. He returned to the back, where Erik was standing guard with his rifle at the ready.
“It looks clear,” Alex said. “Let’s get everything inside.”
“The cart won’t fit through the door, so we’re going to have to unload it and remove the cart from the bike. How long do you think we’ll be here?”
“I hate to say it, but I think we should spend the day here and try to make it home tonight after dark.”
The suggestion was a gut shot to Emma and Erik, but they both knew that getting to their new home safely was a much better option than not getting there at all. They reluctantly unpacked all the gear from the cart and moved it inside and then brought the bikes in with them.
The door frame was split, but the hinges and most of the door itself were still intact, allowing it to be pushed closed. Erik and Alex moved a heavy office desk up against the door to keep it shut and make it harder to get in from the outside. Alex and Erik then took up positions by the front of the garage, watching the road from the small windows on the closed garage doors. After an hour of looking out for anyone following them, they felt safe enough to begin settling in for a fun day of sheltering in place.
There were a couple of cars inside the garage, so Emma and Samantha went and laid down in the backseat of one of them to get some sleep. Erik did the same in the other car, while Alex took the first watch.
He went to the manager’s office, which was just off of the main garage and sat down by a broken window in an old chair that had a torn seat cover. The window faced north, which was the direction of his neighborhood. It was only about a mile away from them, if he connected the dots on a map. However, it was actually a bit further by road and he knew that they made the right choice not to push it.
Alex thought about his family and friends and figured that they would be worried, since he hadn’t returned within his expected timeframe. He decided to check in with them to deliver the news that he wasn’t going to make it back as originally planned.
He pulled out his radio, which he always had set to dual watch so he could listen to two channels at once. He switched his transit frequency back to his neighborhood channel, since it had last been set to the channel that he used to communicate with Erik. Alex then hit the push to talk button on his earpiece cord.
“You guys listening?” he called out.
“Alex, what the fuck,” Tony replied. “The sun is coming up. You said you’d be home by now. I thought you were dead.”
Olivia then chimed in as well. “Alex, what happened? Is everything okay?”
“Hey, sorry about the language, Olivia,” Tony said. “I didn’t know you were listening.”
“We’re okay,” Alex said. “We did run into some trouble at the halfway point, so we are playing it safe and we are going to wait until tonight to make it the rest of the way.”
“Are you sure you’re okay? What kind of trouble?” Olivia asked.
“It will take too long to explain right now” Alex replied. “I’m sure we’ll have plenty of time for that when we get there later tonight. The important thing is we’re in a safe place and everyone is okay. Anyway, I just wanted to check in and let you know what was up and to tell you that I love you very much.”
“I love you too,” Tony replied, before Olivia could transmit. “You have no idea how long I’ve been waiting for you to tell me that. My wife’s gonna be pissed, though.”
“Shut up, Tony!” Olivia said, annoyed. “I love you, Alex. I need you and the Walkers to get here safely. Tonight, right?”
“Promise,” Alex said, hoping that he would be able to keep the promise. “We don’t want to be away any longer than we need to be. Tell my babies that I love them.”
“I will. I’ll see you later,” Olivia said hopefully.
“Since we’re passing messages, can you make sure that your brother switches off with me soon,” Tony said to Olivia. “I’m exhausted and your husband’s coffee has finally worn off.”
“Jerk!” Alex said, ending the transmission.
CHAPTER 9
The day seemed to drag on forever for the group without having much to do other than sleep during their self-imposed imprisonment. When she finally woke up from her slumber, Samantha played with her stuffed animals and included Nina in her play. Emma helped keep watch throughout the afternoon and tried to pass the time with a book that she had brought with her. The fact that it was a book that she had read countless times before made no difference, as it was a favorite of hers and helped give her some much needed respite from the stress of their current situation.
Eventually night fell again and a couple of hours after dark, Erik went to wake Alex, who was taking his turn sleeping in the back seat of one of the cars.
“Rise and shine,” Erik said through the back window.
“Go
away, dad” Alex complained, suddenly aware that he had an intense headache from not having any coffee that day. “I’m not going to school today.”
“You asked for it,” Erik said with a sly grin opening the car door.
Nina climbed into the car and leaped onto Alex’s chest, where she proceeded to slobber all over his face.
“AW, COME ON!” Alex said sitting up, pushing the vicious Pit Bull away and holding his head as if it were about to explode.
“Let’s go, it’s getting close to midnight and we need to repack that cart.”
“Okay, okay,” Alex said. “Hey, I don’t suppose you have any coffee stored away with your stuff, do you?”
“As a matter of fact, I do. The can is almost empty, but there's definitely enough for a few more brews.”
Alex sat up instantly. Erik didn’t drink the same brand of strong espresso style coffee that Alex preferred, but he wasn’t about to be picky given his current predicament.
“Make me coffee and I’ll pull the cart the rest of the way.”
“Deal,” Erik agreed as he sauntered off to heat up some water for the coffee with his small esbit fueled stove. “But for the record, I would have shared my coffee with you anyway, sucker!”
A short while later, the cart was repacked and attached to Alex’s bike for the final push home. The group gathered behind the auto body shop and Alex reviewed the plan for the route they would take.
“If we keep following this road for another half a mile, we can turn north and then reconnect with River Street and follow that back to the parkway. It isn’t far, so we should be there within the hour, if all goes well.”
“I can’t wait to see Olivia and the kids,” Emma said somewhat cheerfully. She still looked a bit nervous, but was clearly trying to sound positive for Samantha. She squeezed Samantha’s shoulders and continued. “Are you excited to see Bella?”
“Yeah,” Samantha said happily. It was the first time Alex had seen her smile during the past two days. “I bet we both look bigger than the last time we played,” she added, standing up as straight and tall as she could.
“I bet you’re right,” Emma said smiling.
“We ready?” Erik asked.
“Ready,” Alex said.
“You think that purple nightmare can handle the cart?” Erik asked “It looks a bit shaky.”
“Very funny,” Alex said shaking his head from side to side. The only bike the Stone family had left was Olivia’s. Erik thoroughly enjoyed needling Alex over the fact that he had to ride a woman’s style bike with purple highlights. Alex wished that he still had his bike, but he had given the bike to David. His brother in law needed it to get home to his family, once the two of them made it back to Alex’s house the day after the EMP. When the Mendez family decided to evacuate their home, they had to leave it behind, since they traveled from their home using a canoe to make the trip on the Charles River and Mother Brook waterways.
Erik mounted his bike and led the group back to the street as they left behind their temporary shelter. Alex and Erik scanned the road in both directions before heading west, pushing them farther away from the neighborhood where they encountered the barricade.
Alex quickly realized how difficult it was to pull the cart and gave his friend some extra credit points for being able to do so quickly, when they made their escape the night before. Alex wanted to crack a joke about Erik putting some extra weight on the cart for him, but he knew it was more important for them to remain as quiet as possible, so he decided to save the joke for a more appropriate time.
The group made it to River Street without any difficulties and only had a short distance to travel on the main road before reaching the parkway that would lead them home. Alex was grateful that their decision to travel at night was paying off and he was beginning to grow more and more excited, the closer they got. He missed his family and a few times during the past 24 hours, he worried that he might not see them again. He tried to shake off the excitement and maintain his focus and vigilance. He knew better than to let his guard down prematurely.
When they reached the bridge that crossed Mother Brook, the group turned onto the parkway and Alex radioed ahead to let his family and friends know that they were nearby.
“Hey guys, we are approaching the neighborhood, so don’t shoot, okay?”
“That’s a relief,” David replied. “You’ve had everyone around here worried all day.”
“Well I hope they didn’t all stay up waiting for us.” Alex said to his brother in law.
“I said they were worried all day. Ain’t nobody losing sleep over you, buddy.”
“It’s good to know where everyone draws the line,” Alex said. “I’ll see you in a minute.”
A few minutes later, the weary group arrived at the Oak Tree Lane neighborhood that they would all call home. David greeted them outside the Kim’s house, where he had been pulling a double shift since relieving Tony earlier that day. Olivia didn’t respond on the radio, so Alex hoped that she had been able to sleep and wasn’t up worrying. However, when he saw his front door open across the street, he knew that wasn’t the case.
“I’m outta here,” David said turning to go back into the Kim house. “She’s been a mess all day, so she’s either going to kill you out of anger or hug you to death. Either way, you’re a goner.”
Olivia rushed over to them and Alex dropped his pack in time to catch her in his arms, lifting her off the ground in his embrace. She had tears in her eyes and the scene reminded him of when he was reunited with her after being stranded away from home when the EMP hit.
“I love you,” she said, kissing him. “I was so worried.”
“Man, I should spend the night away from home more often,” Alex said with a smirk.
“Sinverguenza!” Olivia chided, using the Spanish word for “shameless.” She usually called him that whenever he crossed the line with his joking, which happened on a regular basis. She slapped him on the chest for good measure, before pushing him away from her. Olivia then wiped her eyes and turned to hug Emma, who now had tears in her eyes as well. Samantha then squeezed in between them and took part in the reunion. Olivia squatted down to face her and said, “Bella is sound asleep, but I think we can wake her up, if you want to say hi.”
“Yes, wake her up!” Samantha said cheerfully.
The girls then made their way over to the house with Nina following close behind.
“Let’s get all this crap in the house and get some sleep,” Alex said to Erik.
“Sounds like a plan,” Erik said. “Listen, thanks for your help, I’m glad we’re finally here.”
“Hey, you know you don’t owe me any thanks. Brothers do what brothers do,” Alex said slapping Erik on the shoulder.
Alex picked up his pack and the two men wheeled their bikes over to his house to begin the process of unloading the cart.
Alex paused and looked up from his work. “Since you are feeling all grateful and stuff, I don’t suppose you feel like making me another cup of coffee,” he said hopefully.
Erik stopped what he was doing and looked up for a brief moment, leaving Alex to anxiously wait for his reply. “Now you’re pushing it,” Erik said, shaking his head. “Your wife is right, you are a sin-ver-whatever-she-called-you.”
CHAPTER 10
The next morning, the neighbors gathered at the Anderson house to meet the new members of their community. Most of them already knew Erik from his help the last time he visited the neighborhood, but only Alex and David’s families had met Emma and Samantha before. The children were all excited to have a new friend to play with, particularly Isabella, since Samantha was one of her oldest friends and she finally had another girl to play with.
Daniel was particularly excited about Nina and he stood beside her turning his head at awkward angles before he spontaneously moved his face right in front of the dog, until they were almost nose to nose, staring into each other's eyes. Olivia watched closely, worried that the Pit Bull would
become annoyed with Daniel’s atypical behaviors, but Nina tolerated him and did not appear bothered by him. She then licked Daniel’s face, which made him laugh as he wiped away the slobber.
Leonidas also took a special interest in Nina, sniffing at her and walking around her and Daniel, as if he were sizing her up. At first, Nina ignored the large Doberman, but when he tried to creep in for a closer sniff, she turned and gave a low growl to let him know that she would not be as tolerant of his shenanigans. This caused everyone to laugh. Erik told the others that it was a repeat of their first meeting in the middle of the night and that Nina usually warmed up to people a lot faster than other dogs.
The mood was fairly light and almost had a party like atmosphere at the Anderson house. It was both an exciting time for the Walker family and a bittersweet time as well. They knew that their family would be much safer with their new neighbors, given that they had already demonstrated a willingness to work together to keep their families safe. However, they felt like refugees to a certain degree and the psychological effect of being forced from their place of familiarity and comfort was still somewhat hard on Erik and Emma.
The topic of conversation turned to the neighbors trying to help the Walkers decide where in the neighborhood they would live, given the fact that there wasn’t much room left in the Stone household, since the Mendez family had moved in with them. Erik and Emma decided that it made the most sense to move into the Martin Family house, which was in between the Kim’s and Sullivan’s houses. The Martins had abandoned their home not too long after the EMP attack, with hopes that they would find it easier to cope with the disaster at a relative’s house in another town a few miles outside of the city. Their home happened to be the only house that was not currently used for anything, since the Harrison and Kim homes were both used for security watch and the Anderson home was the regular gathering place for the community.
The Power Struggle Series (Book 2): The Downward Spiral Page 7