Broken Lines- A Tale Of Survival In A Powerless World

by James Hunt

  “Yay!” “What?” Freddy and Kalen shouted unanimously.

  “Everybody sit down. We all need to talk about a few things,” Mike said.

  Kalen folded her arms and dropped into the seat at the opposite end of the table where Mike sat. Anne and Freddy sat on either side of him. Mike reached for Anne’s hand and gave it a squeeze.

  “Everything we talk about here stays with the family. Understand?” Mike said.

  Freddy nodded. Kalen rolled her eyes.

  “The power’s not coming back on,” Mike said.

  Freddy and Kalen looked at each other, both their faces making sure they heard their father correctly.

  “Why?” Freddy asked.

  “What we’re experiencing isn’t a power outage. It’s the effects of an EMP burst. Anything that has a microprocessor in it is completely useless,” Mike explained.

  “The whole country can’t be like this,” Kalen said.

  “I think it is. If it weren’t, I think we would have heard from someone by now,” Mike said.

  “W-what does that mean?” Freddy asked.

  “We’re going to be fine,” Anne said.

  “We’re going to stay here as long as we can, but we’ll probably need to head to the cabin in a few days,” Mike said.

  Kalen shot up out of her chair.

  “In Ohio?” she asked.

  “Yes,” Mike said.

  “We should leave now,” Ulysses said.

  Mike hadn’t heard him enter the kitchen. His father wiped black grease from his hands with a rag and threw it over his shirt.

  “Dad, what are you doing?” Mike asked.

  “Changing the oil in your jeep. Want to make sure it’s good to go in case we have to leave in a hurry.”

  “Why do we have to leave at all? What about James? What about school? My friends? What about my life!” Kalen screamed.

  “Kalen, sit down,” Anne snapped.

  Kalen dropped back into her chair. Tears welled up in her eyes.

  “Look, we don’t know when or how bad this is going to get, but we all need to be ready. From here on out we always walk in pairs. Freddy. Kalen. You two aren’t allowed anywhere without either your mom, grandpa, or me.”

  This time the cries of both Freddy and Kalen were unanimous.

  “Noooo.”

  “No exceptions,” Mike said. “We also need to keep what we have to ourselves. I don’t want people knowing about the jeep, or our provisions in the cellar, okay?”

  “Why can’t we tell anyone, Dad?” Freddy asked.

  “Because we can’t help-”

  Mike stopped himself short. He thought back to the young man who was shot, the hospital, the walk home. All of those moments were sacrifices of his time and energy to help people in need around him. The man looking at him with greasy hands standing in the kitchen taught him that. What was he teaching his own son now?

  “We need to make sure we protect our family first. We’re a team. All of us,” Mike said.

  “Yeah, and we’ll need all the food we can get with those hollow legs of yours,” Ulysses said coming up behind Freddy and patting his grandson’s leg. Freddy giggled.

  “First things first,” Mike said. “I want everyone to have an emergency bag with anything you’d want to bring with you ready and packed in case we need to get out quickly. Go.”

  Freddy ran enthusiastically up the stairs. Kalen dragged herself back to her room.

  “You too,” Mike said to Anne. They kissed and she walked back to their room.

  Mike walked back over to the stove. The pot was boiling now. He added the hot water to a bowl and stirred the oatmeal in.

  “Michael,” Ulysses said.

  “Dad, I can’t turn our house into the Salvation Army,” Mike said.

  “You’re doing the right thing, son.”

  Mike dropped the spoon back down into the mush of oats in front of him. He looked up at his father. The face he was staring at wasn’t the face of iron he remembered as a child. It was a face of understanding.

  “You think so?” Mike asked.

  “I do. You have to take care of your own before you take care of someone else. I know sometimes I wasn’t the best with feelings, but I was only that way because I knew I didn’t have to worry about you. You can take care of yourself. Now, you can take care of your family.”

  “Thanks, Dad.”

  Day Four

  “Don’t hold out on me, Frank, I know you have some!”

  “I’m telling you, Adam, I don’t have any.”

  Mike dropped the saw from the plywood he was cutting when he heard the shouts from the neighbor’s house. His tool belt hung from his waist. He pushed the side gate open from the backyard. The shouting became louder the closer he moved to the front of the house.

  “My whole family is starving and you’ve got enough to feed two families for a week!”

  “Adam, I’m telling you I don’t have as much as you think I do. I’m just trying to keep my family going on what I have.”

  Mike turned the corner and saw Adam Stahls’ red face beaming with anger. Adam’s nose was pressed against the screen door that Frank Minks was hiding behind.

  “Hey, what’s going on?” Mike asked.

  Adam marched toward Mike focusing his rage on a new target.

  “This prick is holding out on us, Mike,” Adam said.

  “Easy, Adam. There’s no reason to get riled up,” Mike said.

  Mike kept his hand close to the hammer around his belt. Adam paced back and forth in the driveway.

  “Where the hell are the relief efforts, huh? Why hasn’t everything been turned back on? Why the fuck can’t I turn my car on and drive to the grocery store!” Adam screamed.

  Then Adam collapsed to his knees. He leaned forward on his hands and a few drops of water splashed the concrete.

  “My boy said he was hungry and I can’t… I don’t have anything to give him.”

  Frank came out from behind the screen door. He and Mike knelt down to Adam and helped him up.

  “Frank, why don’t we go around and get a pool going for anything that can be spared. I bet we could get a little something from everyone,” Mike said.

  “Yeah, we can do that,” Frank replied.

  “Adam, you head back home. Frank and I will see what we can put together, okay?” Mike said.

  Adam wiped the embarrassment from his eyes and nodded. Mike watched him shuffle back over to his home. Mike noticed faces peeking out from behind blinds in homes around the block, then quickly withdrawing after being seen.

  Anne came out the front door and joined them.

  “What’s going on?” she asked.

  “Put together some goods for the Stahls,” Mike said.

  “Anne, wait,” Frank said. He rushed back inside and came out with a few cans of peaches.

  “For Adam,” Frank said.

  ***

  The sun was dipping from the sky when Mike finally finished cutting the plywood. He started labeling each one: Living room. Kitchen. Bedroom. Each piece had small holes cut close to the corners that would allow them to look outside. He brought them in the house and rested each piece of plywood at its corresponding location.

  Mike rested the piece labeled ‘living room’ next to the couch. Sweat beaded on his forehead. A single drop of sweat hung from the tip of his nose.

  “What are you doing?” Anne asked.

  “For the windows. In case things get bad,” he said.

  “I gave those supplies to Adam. He broke down when he saw them. I’ve never seen him like that before.”

  “Nobody was ready for this.”

  “You were.”

  Anne grabbed his arm and pulled him over to her. She rested her face on his chest and he rested his chin on the top of her head. Her hair was still warm from the sun and there was still the faint scent of her shampoo, lingering under his nose.

  The two of them rocked slowly back and forth. The room around them was still and quie
t. The light breaking through the windows caught the swirls of dust flying around in the room. Anne’s fingers rested on the back of his head and her fingers stroked his hair.

  “You know… I think I’m going to have to overrule your no shower rule,” she said.

  Mike pinched her and she squealed. She threw her head back laughing.

  “You smell really bad,” she said.

  “Better get used to it,” he said.

  “You’re a good man,” she said.

  A knocked from the the front door interrupted their kiss. Mike lifted the back of his shirt, revealing the pistol and checked the peephole. When he saw who it was he flipped his shirt down and opened the door.

  Nelson’s eyes went to his feet. His hands fidgeted awkwardly at his sides.

  “It’s just. Well, I heard about what you did for Adam and I…”

  “How much do you need?” Mike asked.

  There wasn’t any malice in Mike’s words, no sense of mockery or “I told you so,” just a genuine concern. Nelson kept his head down.

  “Just a few days’ worth. You know until all this blows over.”

  “Is Sean allergic to anything?” Anne asked.

  “No, but he doesn’t like Brussels sprouts,” he answered.

  “Who does?” she smiled.

  “Come on in,” Mike said.

  Mike and Nelson sat on the couch while Anne put together a package downstairs. Mike unhooked his tool belt to get a little more comfortable and laid it next to the plywood on the ground.

  “Been busy today?” Nelson asked pointing at the plywood.

  “A little,” Mike said.

  “You know if you’re working on any projects around the house I’d be happy to help. It’s the least I could do. I used to be a foreman before I met Katie-”

  Nelson’s throat caught at the sound of his wife’s name.

  “Sorry,” he said.

  “How long were you a foreman?” Mike asked.

  “Five years, but I was doing construction since I was eighteen. Never really thought I was the college type, so I got the first job I could after high school and just worked my way up.”

  “I had no idea.”

  “Most people don’t. I miss it some days, but most days I don’t. Seeing you covered from head to toe in sweat and sawdust doesn’t bring back any fond memories.”

  “Yeah, I’d love to take a shower.”

  “No water pressure?”

  “Not anymore.”

  “I might be able to help with that.”

  Mike took him downstairs to the water heater and they located the water pressure regulator. Nelson took a look at the configuration of pipes, gauges, and valves spread around the basement.

  “The water pressure coming in from outside is more powerful than most homes need, so contractors use a pressure valve to decrease the water flow coming through the pipes. If I open up the pressure on the house’s end it should squeeze out more pressure for another shower or two.”

  Nelson opened the valve up and the pipes hissed and rattled from the water rushing through.

  “That should give you a little modern comfort. For a while at least,” Nelson said.

  “Thanks, Nelson.”

  Anne met them back upstairs with a bag of canned goods: corn, peaches, green beans, and beef.

  “I can’t thank you two enough,” Nelson said.

  “It’s our pleasure,” Anne said.

  Nelson left and Mike headed upstairs. He knocked on Kalen’s door. She cracked it open.

  “What?” she asked.

  “Oh, nothing. I just wanted to see if you should take the first shower, but if you’re busy…”

  The door flew open and she nearly knocked him down on her way to the bathroom.

  “Are you serious!?” she screamed.

  “Hold on. Make sure you have everything ready before you turn it on. And be quick. I’m not sure how long it’s going to last.”

  “Dad, you’re amazing.”

  She wrapped her arms around him and dug her face into his chest, but pulled back.

  “And you smell terrible.”

  “I know, so make it quick, huh? I’d like to take one too,”

  “You can have my shower time, Dad!” Freddy screamed from his bedroom across the hall.

  “Thanks, buddy,” Mike called.

  Day Five

  At least ten families crammed into the living room. Most of them stood, while a few others sat stiffly on couches and chairs. Ted Beachum stood at the front of the living room. He paced back and forth in front of his audience rubbing his hands together, searching for words.

  “I think it’s safe to say that the power’s not coming back on, and nobody’s coming to help. It’s time we get organized,” Ted said.

  Heads nodded in agreement with the exception of one. Ray Gears stood silent in the back corner.

  “We need to pull everyone’s resources on the block and see who has what to offer. From there we’ll divide it up based on the size of each family and their needs,” Ted said.

  Bessie Beachum, Ted’s wife, came up behind him. She placed her hand on his back. She was a woman who was always well groomed, meticulous about her entire appearance, but the past five days had left stray hairs sticking out and old makeup flaking off her cheeks. The tired bags under her eyes aged her and the attempt to re-apply the blush in her cheeks was the equivalent of trying to hide an ugly picture in a beautiful frame.

  “There are some people in this neighborhood that had no idea that this could happen. How were we supposed to prepare for something like this? How were we supposed to know this would happen?” she asked.

  “Nobody could have known,” a woman cried.

  “Exactly. These are circumstances that are beyond our control, so the only way to survive now is by whatever means is necessary,” Bessie said.

  “And who will decide what means to use on whom?” Ray asked.

  Everyone in the room turned to look at Ray, who was leaning against the back wall of the living room with his hands in his pockets.

  “The neighborhood will,” Bessie replied.

  “The neighborhood?” Ray asked.

  “It’s the only way we’ll survive this, Ray,” Ted said.

  Ray rocked his chin in his hand, mulling the response over.

  “Well, if it’s the neighborhood that’s deciding, I think we’re missing a few members aren’t we?” Ray asked.

  Most of the neighbor’s faces wore looks of surprise and innocent ignorance, but out of all the faces Ray watched Bessie’s was the one that frightened him most.

  “We extended the invitation for everyone to come. I can’t force everyone to be a part of this,” Bessie said.

  “You can’t force people to be a part of your community of help and survival, but you can force people to give you the supplies to keep it going?” Ray asked.

  The heads in the room were swiveling back and forth from Ray to Bessie. Even Ted’s face went back and forth. They were all searching for some unnamed enemy to point their fingers at, but the real enemy was their own ignorance. And they knew it.

  “I’m sure that those who see someone in need will be more than willing to participate if they’re able to,” Bessie replied.

  “Just like any good Samaritan would,” Ray said.

  “Now, why don’t we start with everyone that’s already here?” Ted asked. “Bessie and I will head over to everyone’s house for an inventory check and see what we have, and then divide it up amongst ourselves. Then we can spread out to the other houses and see if they want to join in. Tim, we’ll start with you and Barbara’s place.”

  The crowds dispersed and headed back to their houses. Ray watched them all run to their homes with the sun high in the sky. Ray was the only one that didn’t go home. His feet took him to Mike’s house.

  ***

  Mike smacked the last nail in place for the upstairs bedroom window. He brushed some of the plaster off the bed that had fallen from the wall an
d stood back to examine his work. He worried that the nails wouldn’t be strong enough to hold the plywood in place covering the windows if someone wanted to force their way in, but he did the best he could. At the very least it would give him and his family time to escape.