Righteous Gathering: Book 1 of the Righteous Survival EMP Saga

by Timothy Van Sickel

  "Yeah, but I need a structural engineer to check out the beams before I put an eight thousand pound water tank in the hayloft.

  "Back to this power system, Paul. I already poured the foundation for the windmill I told you I want to put in. Heck, I'm surrounded by mega windmills, I should put in my own small wind system, right?"

  "You get enough wind up here for sure, so that’s a good plan," says Paul. "When the sun ain't shinin', the wind’s blowin'. So yeah, this system can bring that in, too. It will get wired in here, same as the solar panels feed the batteries. No different than adding more solar panels.

  "And before you bring it up, yes, your job-site generator can be plugged in, too. But there is no system to automatically turn on the generator if the batteries are low and your other sources are not generating. But you'll know if you need to fire up the generator, just by checking the displays in the kitchen. If you ever get around to installing a permanent backup generator we can look into an automatic start up system or as a minimum, a remote start up from the kitchen, like on the island up in Canada."

  "This is all way too cool, Paul. Thanks for designing this, but I want to bring up one more thing."

  "What's that?" replies Paul.

  "What about making this whole little building a Faraday cage? The crazy bastard in North Korea just set off another nuke. And the Iranians have been testing low earth orbit missiles. They can send us back two hundred years if they pull off a low orbit EMP."

  "I'm not totally buying in, I don't think they have the technology to pull that off yet," replies Paul.

  "'Yet' is the operative word there," I reply. "Anyways, I could buy replacement parts for this system, and store them in the small Faraday cage. But it would probably be cheaper to just put a metal roof and siding on this building and ground it rather than buy the spares. What do you think?"

  "That may work, Mark. Good idea, let me think about it," Paul responds.

  "Hey, let's go up to the house and see what Rebecca and Eve have got going on. Eve said she had some recipes for making jams she found at her mom's house. And they were supposed to make BLT's. Just don’t mention John or Samuel Adams, don’t ask, it's a long story."

  We head back to the house, happy with a good day's work behind us. Another step taken in making Mountainside our safe haven.

  Chapter 7Activated, September 11, 2018

  After Janie heads off, burning tire, Katie and Rebecca take turns entertaining little Sara as I continue to pack bins and duffels and load the van and trailer. I find enough rope and bungie cords to strap down duffels to the roof of the van. I start on gathering sleeping bags, comforters, camping gear, anything I can find that we may need for the kids and their comfort.

  Mostly it is quiet in this residential neighborhood. I have seen a few bikes, and older model cars and trucks go by, but nothing to be alarmed about. I am assuming most people still think this is a normal power outage and things will get back to normal.

  Another military plane lands at Murtha Airport and a few helicopter flights come and go. While strapping down the last of the bins to the trailer I see a military plane taking off from the airport. It makes me curious and I scan the skies a little harder. "Do we have F16s up?" I say, more to myself than Katie or Rebecca. We must, I conclude, they wouldn’t be sending the bigwigs out if we didn’t. That is reassuring in a way, but oddly chilling as well. Good to know our military was actually hardened against the attack; chilling in that the elite are being taken care of while the people are powerless, literally.

  I hear another truck rolling up the road, sounds like it has no exhaust. It turns onto our street and stops in the short driveway. My hand moves to the butt of my pistol, but I quickly relax as I see Rocco's big frame in the driver's seat. Becca and Katie have already come out of the house because of the noise.

  “Rocco," Katie exclaims as she runs and gives him a loving hug. "I told them you would be here," she states, stepping back and beaming up at him with a huge smile. Rocco goes about six foot four inches and well over two hundred and fifty pounds. His daughter's infectious smile is a trait obviously handed down from dad. He is a biker guy through and through; who married the preacher's daughter, literally. His big heart always ends up in the right place, but sometimes the path may be a little long in getting there.

  "What in the hell is going on in this town!" Rocco almost shouts. "Nothin' is workin'; lights are out, traffic is stopped everywhere, people are walking around, not knowing what to do. It's crazy land downtown! I seen at least five wrecks and no ambulances. Cops are on foot, not knowin' what to do. The convenience store on Haynes Street got its pumps on fire and there ain't no fire trucks nowhere. One cop stopped me and wanted my truck. I gunned it. To hell with him!" He takes a breath. "I am so glad to see you all! Where's Janie and the kids?"

  We take a few minutes to fill him in on what we all have seen and what we are doing. His expression grows dim. "This ain't good. Ain't good at all. But the military is up and running, huh? Well, that's something. Maybe Zach knows what's going on."

  "Janie should be back any minute, then we're headed to the reserve center. Maybe you and Katie should go with us."

  "I think so, we need some answers. But if what you are telling me is right, we need to make some plans."

  "Almost too late for plans now." I say. "We were going to take the kids and grandkids out to our farm. Rocco, you and Katie are welcome to come. It will be much safer there. We already asked Katie but she wanted to talk to you and see about your other daughter first."

  "I ain't runnin' off to the hills just yet. Me and Katie will be just fine. We got food and we can protect ourselves just fine if you know what I mean. I don’t call 911. Guess I can't now, huh?" he says with a chuckle. "What do you think, baby? We ain't runnin' nowhere's, are we?"

  "Rocco, I will stay with you wherever that may be. I have for forty years, and I ain't changing now. But let's keep Mark and Becca's invitation in mind. If it does get bad, we could go out there."

  "I ain't imposin' on no one like that. I take care of my own, always have, always will. Asides that, Mark here would have ta hear me cussin' now and then, and then he'd go to telling me not to." He looks at me laughing.

  "Ya know we is all sinners, Rocco. Givin' up cussin' is an easy one. Lord wants us to be better people is all I'm sayin'." I reply. "And there won't be no imposing, big fella. Your mechanical skills will come in mighty handy, and we'd be glad to have ya'. On your time, that is."

  Rocco looks at Kate. "We got to know our other daughter is okay. And I want to see how things shake down here. Hell, most folk ain't that bad, we probably be just fine here. Big stink over nothin' maybe. But we'll get out your way if we need to. And I'd feel good knowing Janie and the kids are safe out there with you all. A little time in the country will be good for the boys, and little Sara, too."

  We all start talking about what we think has happened and what's going to happen, playing out scenarios and talking about how much food Rocco and Kate have. We let them know about the food here at Janie and Zach's and we start to pack it and load it in Rocco's salvaged truck.

  A little over an hour after Janie left, we hear her coming back down the road and we all smile as she turns in the driveway. She pulls off her helmet and is displaying her perpetual smile. "All good" she exclaims. "I got Britt and took her home. Kenny was already there and they were getting ready to walk to the high school to get Larson and Grace."

  "How are they?" Becca asks.

  "Britt is shook up, she wouldn’t leave with me on the bike, but her boss basically forced her to. And she was a little freaked out about walking to get the kids, kept insisting that Kenny fix the car. Kenny has a handle on it though. He said they would be ready tomorrow for you to get them, assuming the power hadn't come back on. I think he said that for Britt's sake more than anything. There's wrecks everywhere and some fires. No one is responding. He knows that it's all gone bad."

  "What were the roads like?" I ask.

 
"People where starting to walk the roads up by the pharmacy and supermarket, but I scooted past them. It was all clear down to Britt's, 'cept for a few small wrecks and stalled traffic. I came back up Ohio Street, hoping to save some time, but a concrete truck plowed into a fuel truck. They where both down over the hill, and there's a big fire going. It's so dry, I think the whole hillside is going to burn. No one's there but a few people watching, no fire trucks, nothin'."

  "You came back Ohio Street!?" I shout. Janie looks at me, smile gone because of my angry outburst. "I told you to take Eisenhower and Krings Street! Both ways! Ugh, sorry, sorry, let me calm down."

  A bit more calmly, but with urgency I tell her, "You need to follow the route Janie. If something had happened to you, God, we may never have got to lookin' on Ohio Street for hours! You have to stick to the route."

  "Mark!" Becca says sharply, "Don’t be so harsh."

  Rocco steps in, "No, no, no, Mark's right. Janie, you got to follow a route like that. If something were to happen, we need to be able to find you. Now come over here and give your daddy a hug!"

  Hugging Rocco tightly, Janie exclaims. "Poppa! Mom said you would be here! I love you Poppa! Oh Pop, what's going on, is it like Mark says?"

  "Sounds like you seen it for yourself, little girl. Yeah, it's kinda bad. Let's go get Zach and then pick up the kids. Mark tells me you all are goin' to the farm with him and Becca till this blows over. That's a good plan. You'll be safe there."

  "What about you and Mom?"

  "We'll stick around here for bit, little girl. We'll come out if things don’t settle down. Don’t worry about Poppa and your Momma. We'll be fine."

  After a final few checks through the house, and a check of the load and trailer, we all pile into our two vehicles to make the short run to the reserve center. Janie follows on the bike. This will take us right down the airport road, past anything that may resemble normalcy.

  The airport road has several National Guard, Army Reserve, and Air Force Reserve units on it, thanks to Representative Murtha and his pork projects. So a lot of equipment and buildings will have been hardened against a nuclear EMP. I pray that we don’t run into problems, but I feel it is too early for them to have started any serious crackdown on civilian traffic.

  Five minutes later our little caravan pulls up at the gate to Zach's Reserve Center where they repair military equipment coming back from overseas. The gate is closed, as usual, but there are armed soldiers manning the gate, not the normal civilian guards. A guard at the armed ready position blocks the gate as a sergeant approaches the van.

  "Sorry sir, no admission to the base at this time. You need to turn your vehicles around and leave the premises. I suggest you return the way you came. The airport road is shut down to all civilian traffic until further notice," states the sergeant bluntly but with no menace.

  "My son, Zach Mays, Sergeant Mays, works here." I say, "We have his wife with us and we need to talk to him, let him know she's okay."

  "I am sorry sir, there has been a national security incident and this base is on high alert, no one enters and no one leaves. You have to turn around and leave. You are not permitted to be here," the sergeant says more firmly.

  By this time, Janie, on the bike, has pulled up and takes off her helmet, letting her long blonde hair fall down. Flashing her brilliant smile, she says "Joey! Stop the hard ass crap. I need to see Zach, so don’t give me no bullshit or I'll tell Carrie who you where makin' eyes with at the summer picnic."

  "Janie! Damn you. Janie! Okay, no threats needed, me and Julie was just havin fun… Hardison," the sergeant yells over his shoulder. "Radio the motor pool, let Staff Sergeant Mays know his wife is at the front gate."

  "Thanks, Joey," I say with a grin, "we'll turn around and get pulled off to the side, okay?'

  "That would be good, sir, thank you," Joey responds.

  After turning around, we wait a few minutes, not so patiently, but we have no choice. Janie had put on a good show for the gate sergeant, but we all can tell she is very nervous. "No one enters, no one leaves," remarks Rebecca, "That doesn't sound good. I need to be with Janie, be there for her, this may not go well. She won’t want to leave without Zach." Rebecca gets out and walks over to talk with Janie. Katie joins them.

  Another flight of helicopters comes in from the south, from Flight 93 Memorial, two Apaches and two Blackhawks again. They aren't playing games. They quickly take off, but this time they are heading east. Interesting, maybe all the bigwigs have been evacuated already. Thousands of civilians will be left to fend for themselves. That could be a problem.

  Soon we see Zach coming towards the gate at a fast jog. I get out of the van and walk over to where Janie, Katie and Rebecca rejoice as Zach comes up to the fence. Janie has a smile bigger than usual upon seeing Zach. "Honey! What's going on? Mark say's we've been attacked. From what I've seen, he's right, and you're on lock down! Can't you come over here and give me a hug," she says pleadingly.

  "Baby, baby, baby!" Zach empathizes. "We have not been locked down. In fact we've been activated. It just came down the line officially about thirty minutes ago. I am sooo sorry, baby," Zach says earnestly. "We knew this could happen, honey, we just never thought it would happen this fast."

  "Oh my God, Oh my God, Oh my God." Janie is almost in tears, "What's happening, Zach? What going on?"

  "Honey, we have been attacked," says Zach . "But I don’t know much, the rumors are flying. They say nukes in DC and New York. They also say high altitude nukes. I don’t know, it's chaos, babe. They are doing everything they can to scramble all the bigwigs out of Shanksville. We are trying to get any vehicle we can runnin'. But most of our vehicles are shot. I don’t know what to tell you, babe, It's chaos and no one knows what's going on."

  Looking at Zach, I state, "High altitude nuke definitely, Zach, EMP. I watched three planes nose dive. Everything electronic is shut down. We talked about this, Zach. North Koreans,,, Islamist extremists. Someone pulled it off, Zach. Some evil bastards have sent us back two hundred years." I look away, off to the distance, to hide my tears.

  "Zach!" Janie almost yells, "What are we going to do? What do you mean we've been sent back two hundreds years? EMP! That was just you and Mark talking conspiracy theories, that was just you and Mark talking nonsense… Oh crap… it has happened…. Oh, my God."

  We are interrupted by Specialist Hardison. "Sergeant Way! Your XO is looking for you. He wants you back in the motor pool. You need to wrap this up."

  We have to move this along and it's going to be rough. I pray for wisdom and patience. "Zach, we are ready to take Janie and the kids out to the farm like we talked about if something like this happened. But you were supposed to be going with us." Through the fence, I look at him in the eye. "Zach, Janie and the kids need to be at the farm with your mom and me, it's going to get bad here. But it's your call. I can't force it." I walk away.

  Zach, Janie, Katie and Rebecca stand together, but not together, a fence separates them, but God unites them. I can see them talking, arguing, crying, praying. I pray too. Janie and Zach may never see each other again. This is beyond my weak abilities of compassion. I have a good sense of what is right, but I am not good at compassion. I have to stand aside. God's will be done.

  The sergeant named Joey walks over and tugs on Zach's elbow. Zach pulls away. Zach motions at the gate and says something pleadingly. Joey opens the gate and Zach and Janie hug tightly. Rebecca and Katie then hug Zach too. Janie and Zach hug again and kiss passionately. Rebecca, Katie and Janie turn and head towards our small caravan. Zach watches longingly and then turns back towards the motor pool.

  Rebecca gets in the van and looks at me, tears rolling down her cheeks. "It's okay," she says, "It's going to be okay. Let's go get the kids."

  Chapter 8The Kids, September 11, 2018

  "What's going on, hon?" I ask. "What's the plan?"

  "Don't worry, honey. Seriously, do you always need a plan? Janie is going with us. We are going to get the
kids now. Rocco and Kate are heading back to their house. Janie is following us to the school. Is that enough of a plan for now? Let me regroup here, babe. That was tough, but we worked it out,,, just give me a few minutes to process it all."

  I know when to shut up and not ask questions, this is one of those times. Rocco pulls out around me and makes a right, away from the airport and back towards their home. I pull out and follow him, and Janie follows behind me on the bike. We go all the way back past the kids' house to avoid the airport. Rocco and Kate pull off at their driveway. I look at Rebecca and she is staring straight ahead, lips moving in a silent prayer. I know to keep going, to get the kids, as she said. She will fill me in when she is ready.

  I start taking a few back roads that will skirt the shopping plazas and office parks. There are people in front yards gathering and talking. There are some people walking, including mothers with baby strollers and children. I think people are starting to realize this is different, that they need to start taking action for themselves. They are starting to figure out that the school buses aren't going to be dropping off their kids. They aren’t going to take the minivan for wrestling carpool today. The sooner they figure it out the better.

  We still need to dodge stalled cars, especially at the few non-functioning traffic lights we need to pass. Those get hairy a couple of times, crowds of confused and angry people at a bottleneck. To get people to move out of the way, we need to do some maneuvering and horn honking, at speed a few times.

  We have the advantage of speed and bulk. I will use that edge. And how is God judging me as I do this? My soul aches. “Take care of those you can take care of, if you are helpless, then you can't help others, your time will come,” I hear in my head. Am I just justifying my actions? I don’t know. I keep moving forward, Wife, kids, grandkids. But how does that square up with my priority of life guidelines: God, Family, Community, Self? Family above community? But am I putting family above God and what he wants me to do? I need to talk this out, but there is no time now. "Be with us, God," I pray.