* * *
Driving the Florida coast turned out to be one of the best things that Garrett had done in a long time. He could have driven it for days ... back and forth ... back and forth. The view was spectacular. Beaches and quaint little restaurants. The fact that he got to do it with Holly only added to the adventure. She was the one woman in the world that not only brought out the best in him, but also the worst. No one else had the ability to affect him the way that she did. Not even Becky. His buddies all told him that his marriage would never be the same once he had kids, and for the longest time that scared the hell out of him. Eventually he ran out of excuses, and Holly convinced him that a baby could change their lives for the better. They started a family when they were both in their early thirties, later than most of their friends. That was one of the arguments that Holly had used to finally wear him down. Of all their friends that had kids, only one couple had divorced. Pretty good odds, she argued, considering the national average for failed marriages. Ultimately, Garrett's only regret about starting a family was that they could only have one child. Sometimes, Mother Nature makes decisions that don't go your way. They considered adoption, but the waiting list was ridiculously long, and they eventually gave up.
Like so many other parents, they decided to be the best parents ever for their one and only daughter. They poured their hearts and souls into raising her. As Garrett liked to joke, In spite of my best efforts to spoil the hell out of her, she rebelled and became the best daughter on the planet. Few that knew Becky would disagree.
* * *
All good things must come to an end, and for Garrett, that meant boarding the monstrosity of a cruise ship. He didn't like crowds, big boats, or deep water. There was plenty of each to go around. Boarding the boat took them right past all the shops on the main deck. Holly didn't say anything, but her eyes darted from one to the next as they made their way to the elevators. The room was small but nice.
"Did you see all those stores as we were coming in?" Holly asked.
"Sort of, I did. I was more concerned with scoping out all the emergency exits. There didn't seem to be enough of those, or maybe it was too hard to see them in that mob of people."
"Oh, stop it. We're on a perfectly safe state-of-the-art cruise ship. Whatever makes you think that you'd need an emergency exit?" Holly finished hanging her clothes in the small closet.
"I just think it's sort of strange that on a plane they go to great lengths to prep you for emergencies. They tell you where all the exits are, how to fasten your seatbelts, and how to use the oxygen masks. Here, though, they don't make any of those sorts of announcements. Did you hear any?"
"No, not yet I haven't, but we haven't even left dock yet. I'm sure they'll let us know what to do in the incredibly remote event that something goes wrong." She rummaged through the top of the one nightstand, found a ship brochure, then handed it to Garrett. "Here, I'm sure you can find something in there to set your mind at ease. And look, there are directions on the back of the door. Just like they have in hotels, telling you where to go in an emergency. There's even a little map."
Garrett flipped through the brochure. "This thing is just full of shopping and restaurant stuff. I don't see ... hang on." He found a section on safety, and started reading that. "Pretty basic stuff here. And this isn't a hotel room. Those maps on the backs of the doors probably haven't been updated in years."
"Likely, because the ship hasn't changed in years. It's not that old anyways, they said it was only eight years old. Just old enough to get all the kinks worked out of it, I'd say."
"I suppose. Still seems like a bad idea," he said under his breath.
"What was that? You're not having second thoughts about all this now, are you?"
"No, no. Of course not." Garrett suddenly realized how much complaining he'd been doing, and that it was starting to get to Holly. This was her idea, and she was really looking forward to it. He was looking forward to it as well, just for different reasons. Basically, a chance to get his life back together. He changed the subject. "Have you heard from Becky lately?"
"Three days ago, I think. She seemed in pretty good spirits. Sounded pretty excited about the internship, and the fact that her parents were about to spend a week on a cruise ship."
"You told her?"
"Yeah, of course I told her. I didn't want her to worry if she couldn't get a hold of either of us for a week."
"Right. Of course." Garrett put the brochure back into the nightstand. "I guess I just didn't want to get her hopes up."
"Her hopes?"
"Maybe mine too, but it's different for her. She may be old enough to vote, but that doesn't mean she's not a little kid anymore."
"Maybe in your eyes she is, but no one else sees her that way."
"All I'm trying to say is that she really wants us back together, and I wouldn't want her to get her hopes up only to be disappointed."
"You think we've disappointed her?"
"I don't know. She doesn't like to talk about the separation a lot, so I haven't pushed it with her. Just a feeling, that's all."
"You know that I want this to work, right? I'm not just dragging you out here into the middle of the ocean to watch you squirm."
"Really?"
She playfully punched him in the shoulder. "You know what I mean."
"I know. I'm hopeful things will work out too."
"I believe we have a chance here, if we just work through some stuff. It's different now, being just the two of us."
"I know how you feel. Glad to hear you say it. That's sort of how I've been feeling for the last couple of years with your work schedule."
"I'm sorry. I didn't realize it then. I just got so wrapped up with work. It was important. The company's been creating a lot of jobs. Asheville's been doing so well for a change; it was good to be a part of it."
"Just remember what you're doing it for ... families ... that includes our family too."
"Yes, of course. Speaking of family, did you hear about the latest thing that they had Becky doing?"
"Just the internship. She hadn't started yet the last time I talked to her
, but she wasShe told me about the internship, and sounded pretty excited."
"She told me that they actually had her on site the other day. Some fancy new skyscraper that was going to be one of the tallest ones in the city. Eighty-two floors. I can't imagine working on something that big. It must be amazing for her."
"Sounds like it's amazing for the both of you, the way you're gushing."
"Oh, I know. It's just so amazing to see her doing well, and as an aspiring architect. I can't wait to talk with her in person."
"Great. I can see conversation around holiday dinners is going to be fascinating for the next few years," Holly said sarcastically, and Garrett smiled.
"Don't worry, we'll dumb it down to help you feel part of things."
Holly gave him an evil eye. "Careful there, sport. This boat hasn't left dock yet."
"Right; when does it leave?"
"Not for a few hours. Why? Thinking of abandoning ship already?"
"No, I promised Becky we'd give her a call once
we clearedbut I'd like to talk with Becky once before we leave the harbor. I think she was still skeptical that I'd actually go through with the whole thing. She wantedShe'll be happy to know for sure that her parents were really committed themselves to a week together in a tiny cabin."
"It's not really that tiny. Have you taken a look out the windows yet? Supposed to be quite the view once we get going."
Memories of Garrett's recurring dream snuck into his mind, and he had a desperate urge to get out of the room. "No, not yet. I will though, once we leave port. How 'bout we check out those stores in the mall?"
Holly looked shocked. "Of course! I thought you'd never ask."
* * *
After an eventful night of shopping, dinner, and even a little bit of dancing, they enjoyed a very romantic evening back in their room. Nei
ther Garrett nor Holly could remember a night when they had both been so in touch with each other. It was almost like they were teenagers again, but without all the clumsy fumbling around that inexperience inevitably brings.
As they were finishing up a hearty breakfast, Garrett remembered that he hadn't called Becky yet.
"Do you still think we're in cell phone range?" Garrett asked.
"I have no idea," Holly answered. "We only left dock a few hours ago. Boats don't go that fast, do they? You might get dinged for roaming charges, but you should really let her know where we are. I'm sure she's curious to know if you deserted ship."
"Very funny. I'll make it a quick call."
"So, was it as traumatic as you thought it would be?" Becky said as she answered her phone.
"Well good morning to you too, daughter. Nice to hear your voice," Garrett said.
"Morning, Daddy," Becky replied in a mocking tone. "So, you are actually on the ship, right?"
"Yes, of course. I'm on the ship and we're somewhere in the middle of the ocean ... I think. Not exactly sure where we are. I just know my fishing poles aren't here and I'm surrounded by water."
"Must have been a good night if you don't even know where you are," she said teasingly. "Is Mom awake yet?"
"Hey, just remember who you're talking to. I know only-children can be precocious, but there are some things that are best kept between adults."
"I am an adult, Daddy, and don't be so sensitive. I was only teasing. Is Mom there? Can I talk to her?"
"Sure thing, but keep it quick, I think we're getting dinged for roaming charges and they're pretty expensive out here."
"OK, Dad."
Garrett handed the phone to Holly.
"Hey, baby," Holly said. "How's life in the big city?"
"Pretty awesome, Mom. This internship is going to be amazing. You wouldn't believe all the stuff they've got me doing. We're up on this new skyscraper the firm is building, and it's amazing. We are like forty-five floors up, and there aren't walls or windows or anything."
"Oh my. Is that safe? Doesn't it get windy that high up?"
"Well, yeah, I think it does some days, but not today. There are temporary guardrails around the edges, and they have areas marked out where it's safe to move around. Don't worry, Mom, it's not the first skyscraper to be built. They know what they're doing."
"Alright, but still, you be careful. You know it's a mother's job to worry, right?"
"Yes, yes, I know. But hey, can you give me back to Dad? There's something I wanted to tell him before I go."
Garrett took the phone. "Hey, Becky. I should go, this call is going to cost me almost as much as the cruise." Holly raised her eyebrows.
"Ah c'mon, Dad, quit being such a cheapskate. You know it's worth it, just to get back into Mom's good books."
"Of course it is, but that's gonna take a little more work." Holly looked at him inquisitively.
"You can do it, Dad. I have faith, but there's one more thing I gotta tell you before I go."
"Shoot."
"I get to design an entire floor of the building."
"What! That's amazing. Good for you!"
"Well yeah, I'm not actually doing it all by myself, but with the other interns. There are three of us here, and we're going to work as a team to design the entire executive floor."
"Whoa, the executive floor. I'm so proud of you. Very jealous, but crazy proud as well." He put his hand over the mouthpiece and whispered to Holly, who looked confused by his conversation, "She gets to design a whole floor." Holly looked suitably impressed for someone who didn't quite understand what the big deal was all about.
Becky continued, "Apparently, they've had a heck of a time getting the client to sign off on the designs they've submitted so far from all their teams. So, they figured what the hell, give the kids a shot at it. We have to get our designs approved by the partners of course, but it's a heck of an opportunity."
"It certainly is. Have you started on it yet? Need any help?"
"C'mon, Dad, the point of it is for us to do it. This is not like grade eight, where you practically built that papier-mâché volcano yourself for my geography class."
Garrett laughed out loud as Holly rolled her eyes. "That was a great volcano, you gotta admit."
"Yes, Dad, whatever you say. This time though, I have to do it myself. I can't very well tell the others that my dad wants to help out. We're actually at the site now; I'm just checking out the floor in person with one of the other interns. It's a pretty spectacular view up here over the city. There just one more thing though. I--"
Then Garrett's phone suddenly went dead.
Chapter 5 ~ What Goes Up
"Dad ... Dad ... Hello." Becky turned to her fellow intern, William. "That's strange, my phone just died. I had it plugged in all night. Must not have had the charging cable plugged in all the way or something."
"I've done that before. Usually after being out too late though. You weren't partying late last night, were you?"
"On a work night, no. I don't do that. At least not without a good reason. Did the wind just pick up or something? It sounds a lot louder."
"No, I don't think so. It doesn't feel any windier. Something happened though."
They both stopped what they were doing and looked around. They were working in the middle of the forty-fifth floor of the new skyscraper, verifying dimensions for the new design they were working on. There were exposed steel beams, concrete and rebar. Every few feet, there'd be an occasional conduit sticking through the concrete that would later be used to run electric and plumbing through the building.
"Everything just got dead quiet," Becky said. "The cranes aren't moving. The cranes are always moving ... at least one of them."
They both moved to try to get a better view of the cranes. There were six of them around the edge of the building. They were the veins that carried tools, equipment and materials to the workers. Without the cranes working, progress ground to a halt. Today, they were carrying structural steel beams to the men working on the top floor, fifteen floors above where Becky and William were. The cranes were all frozen in place. Three of the cranes had large bundles of I-beams dangling in midair. There was a light breeze today, about five mph from the west. Not enough to be much concern to the crane operators, but enough for the loads to gently sway at the end of the crane booms.
"Can you make out the crane operators?" Becky asked.
"Just the one guy on the north side here." William motioned in that direction. "He looks like he's trying to talk with someone on his radio. He's too far away to see his face, but he seems kind of agitated. Waving his arms around. Wait, now he's trying to work the controls. Nothing's happening on the crane end though. Nothing's moving."
"Must be a power outage or something."
"Got to be something more than that. Those cranes are like cars, they run off their own diesel engines. A power outage shouldn't affect them." William pulled out his cell phone, and it was dead as well. "Alright, what the hell? How can my phone be dead too?"
"This isn't right. What would cause everything to stop working?"
They both made their way to the edge of the building floor to get a view of the site below. It was hard to make out much from forty-five floors up in the air, but things didn't look right to either of them. It was almost impossible to pick out individual people, but they could make out larger trucks and vans.
"Oh gee, I really hate standing here on the edge. I'm not a big fan of heights," Becky said.
"I don't think anyone is at this height. Unless you're one of those adrenaline junkies that scale sheer mountain walls before breakfast."
They both steadied themselves by hugging their arms around the closest I-beam.
"Is anything moving down there? It's really hard to tell," William asked.
"I don't think so. At least, I can't make out anything. Wait. I think I see a couple of cars moving, but they're weaving in and out of all the others. It's like a major grid
lock. Why so many stalled cars all at once? That makes no sense."
"What's really so strange is how quiet it is. I would think that even up here we'd hear cars honking."
"You sure?"
"Yeah. This is New York. You wait an extra half second at a green light, and people go nuts. Every car that's not moving should be honking at the ones in front of them. But nothing. It's quiet."
"Wait, I hear something now. What is that? It's like a high-pitched whine. It's getting louder, and coming closer."
"Run!"
They both instinctively looked up, but couldn't make out anything. The upper floor blocked their view. What they couldn't see was one of those early morning traffic helicopters, now crippled from the same power outage afflicting all the other machines.
It dropped like a stone, with no direction and no navigation ... free fall. The rotors only moved by the force of the wind as it hurtled closer to the ground. The pilot tried desperately to restart the engines, even knowing that at this angle and rate of fall, even if the engines did somehow start, there would be no way he could pull it out. In the lower right corner of the control panel, he kept a taped picture of his wife and two teenage boys. The picture wasn't there because he thought his job was particularly dangerous and he needed to keep his family close for when things got tough. He wasn't in a military zone. He'd retired from that years ago. He kept the picture there because this was his office ... his cubicle, and like so many others that worked in cubicles, he wanted to be reminded of why he went to work every day.
He wasn't looking at the picture as he desperately fought for life, trying to get the engines to start. Then, he was. Just out of the corner of his eye, the picture came into view, and suddenly seemed more important than anything else. He pulled it from the panel and held it closer. His boys were so big. Men now, really. Men that could take care of themselves. In that moment, he was glad for that. Glad that while they would grieve for him, they'd be able to go on with their lives. He was glad as well, that he'd had time to instill the values in them that he considered important. 'Find a way to do what you love,' he had always told them. He pressed the picture close to his heart, and closed his eyes.
EMP Survivors (Book 1): Destination Lost Page 3