by Francis Bate
THE LONE SURVIVOR
A Story of The Coming Grid Collapse
a non-stop action prepare fiction story by “Above Average Joe” Frank Bates
© This ebook is licensed for your personal use only. The book is a work of fiction. People, places, events, and situations are the product of the author’s imagination. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, historical events, is purely coincidental. This ebook may not be sold or gifted to other people. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author. No part of this book may be re-printed, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted by any means without the written consent of the author. Copyright © 2017 Above Average Joe Frank Bates. All rights reserved.
About The Author:
Frank Bates is a master of many trades; from survivalist fisherman and outdoors enthusiast to expert published wordsmith. His real-world experiences working with NASA and consulting with Cosmonauts, colors his fictional work, adding a dynamic sense of realism to every scene. The result: fame! Frank Bates has been covered in various forums including Time Magazine, Wall Street Journal and TechCrunch.
I always like to be emailed feedback, comments, and remarks. I love your questions. If you don’t understand something in the story, please email me and I will clarify anything you want to know in the novel. You can reach me at [email protected]
Table of Contents
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter One: Kiss Good Bye
Glancing out of his office window, Stan Harris clasped at the coffee mug with both of his hands. He took a sip as he let the world swallow him into space. Leaning onto the wall, the look of exhaustion is circling his orbitals. It was a busy week for him and he never stopped working as if it was the end of the world. Dozens of employees were quickly hurrying from building to building carrying a general air of purpose. The Wednesday sun is brightly talking to the trees and flower blooms. Jolting to the reverberating sound in the background, he fixed his gaze to the direction of the wooden desk where the sound was coming from.
Striding to his desk, he angled the ringing phone close to his ears thinking it was another client on the line. He listened carefully while bringing out a piece of paper from his case and scribbled letting the ink dance on the thin sheet.
“Alright, this case will be regarded the soonest possible. Would there be other concern that you may have for today?” Stan asked from the other line, fiddling at the pen on his fingers.
It was a service call from Southern Georgia requiring for an urgent case support. The assurance in his voice was apparent.
“Yes, I understand. Yes… we’ll need to figure that out. I’ll call you when I get there,” he answered then hung up, inclining his chair and leaning onto it.
Scheming the hours he needed for his travel time, Stan sat on his reclining chair and started working again. It felt as though it was a typical ordinary day with the chunk of junks and heap of papers on his desk. He has so much work to accomplish. But he was eager to end the day and go home to his family. The thought of seeing his wife and daughters after a long tiring work motivated him.
Hoping his wife would agree on another service call, he dialed the phone and waited for her to answer. “Honey,” Stan greeted when she answered, sticking the phone closer to his ear. “What are your plans today?”
Thinking that it was another typical on-field job, he called to check on her and to let her know. Since they had kids, her wife decided to be a full-time mother. She is hands on household chores, to her husband, and their daughters.
“Be picking the kids up after school. I’m baking some cupcakes; want me to bring you some of these?” She was distant from the speaker of her phone but he could still hear her. Her voice, the sweet voice that made him pop the question too, he is willing to trade everything in order to hear that voice every second.
“That’ll be great! But I’d prefer to taste those goodies when I come home early today,” he could overhear her sigh from over the phone. She knew at that moment that he is out for another trip again. She knew his husband well.
Before he could continue, she immediately stated, “You’re on for another field work, aren’t you?” which came out a query.
At that point, she doesn’t need to see him in order to know the silent nod he made. But his hesitant chuckle was the only thing she heard.
“You’ll be a very good foreteller, you know,” he teased but she seemed not pleased.
“Why not, I’d always be the best. But going back, I’ll take that as a yes to my inquiry. Where’re you running to this time?”
“I’m leaving to Southern Georgia. I just got a call,” he twisted the telephone cord, waiting on how his wife would react. Stan heard a downcasted sigh but he ignored it.
“Okay, I’ll see you when you get home then. I have to end the call before the cupcakes burn,” she murmured in a soft yet clear voice.
“Okay, honey.” Stan listened as the hang-up tone on the other line buzzed. He put the phone down, chortling at the reflection of his wife in his mind.
Leaving them for work wasn’t easy at first and it never did anyway. But it takes some courage and hard work to provide for his family.
After work, he never forgets to bring home his daughters’ favorite donuts from a shack near his office. Stan has been married for nearly a decade with a beautiful wife having two beautiful daughters. Seeing his family contented and in high spirits is a fulfillment for him. He genuinely loves them.
As the sun began to peek through the bedroom window the following day, Stan woke up to the sound of his alarm clock at six. He searched for his wife beside him but she was not in the bed. Disoriented, he glanced around the room and bolted out to the kitchen. That’s the first place where he could see his wife. The aromas of newly flipped pancakes are circulating through his senses and he knew that he was right. Seeing his wife in her stunning dress highlighting her perfect curves, he swept his arms from behind her and whiffed her mild floral scent onto his nose.
“Good morning,” He kissed her neck as she shivered at the faint trickle of goose bumps that closely supervened. “I love you,” Stan gently whispered to her ear but it came out a faint sigh.
She let out a small smile and stroked the hands of her husband on her midriff. “It seems like someone had a good night’s sleep,” he heard his wife say. She was teasing but he knew it was an attempt to conceal her sadness.
“There has never been a bad night sleeping beside you.” He slightly tilted her head and kissed her temple.
“If there’s one thing you’re expert with, sweet talking that is.” It was mixed emotions she was feeling. Surprisingly, she managed to cover it up with a giggle so he won’t worry. “You still have a long way to go. Get back in the room and prepare for your journey. I have already packed your bags,” she reached for the spatula and tossed another wet mix on the pan.
“I scanned the bedroom and you weren’t there. I’ll miss you,” he muttered, he shut his eyes and submerged his face on her neck. Her wife was a bit curious about what’s happening.
Although Stan was a sweet husband and father, his extra sweetness was somewhat offbeat to her. She closed her eyes, perceiving a vision of her strong and handsome husband in her mind. There was something in her that she couldn’t explain but her husband needs to hit the road before midday. Brushing off her thoughts,
she let out a small prayer in the wind. She turned around to meet her husband’s soft green eyes and kissed his cheek sweetly.
“You won’t be out that long, will you?” She asked him with hesitation.
“Nah, I’ll come home as soon as I can, don’t worry.” He replied tightening his grip but his wife loosened it.
She turned around to face him. Looking straight at her smoky almond eyes, Stan saw that she was worried. She enfolded her arms around his neck, closed her eyes inhaling his masculine smell of minty soap and a mild aftershave. “I haven’t fully slept, thinking of you, wishing you didn’t need to leave us again.”
“I’ll be home before you know it.” He kissed her hair as he held her tight, intertwining his fingers on her waist.
“You’d better be, or I’ll have to come reconnaissance you,” she teased, trying to make the mood light. “Come on, head straight to the bathroom so we can have breakfast. This will be ready after you get ready,” his wife demanded, giggling. She turned back around, facing the stove again. After flipping the pancake, she looked back at her husband.
“Yes, I will be coming home to report,” he straightened and hand saluted, mimicking a soldier obeying the commands of his superior. Stan marched off the kitchen, hearing the sweet giggles of his wife from behind.
As soon as he finished his morning rituals, he went back to the kitchen but stopped in his tracks when he heard two little voices sharing stories and giggles. Smiling onto his self, he presumed that they were waiting for their own food to be served. His life was never the same since they had kids in the house. It took quite some time for his wife to bear a child after marriage so he sees to it that every day would be memorable for them.
“Daddy,” two excited little voices greeted him on the kitchen door with tiny hands and feet flying around him. Stan smiled brightly.
“Good morning to you both, too,” he kissed them on the forehead and lifted them back to their stools.
The kids went back to their deep altercation as he listened to their rants and giggles, talking about random subjects.
“Dad, are you leaving us?” Stan gazed at his daughter, at his wife and back to his daughters.
The sadness in their eyes is painstakingly gnawing his insides. He watched as his wife carefully prepared the dining table and put two pancakes and sausages on four plates. The maple syrup was sweetly rolling from the summit of the griddle cake.
“No sweetie. I’d just be out for a day or two,” he answered.
“Why?” The innocence in their eyes was touching the core of his heart.
Stan stared at his daughters, watching them as they put a slice onto their tiny mouth. Waiting for his answer, tiny eyes gazed back at him. “Daddy needs to go to work. I won’t be that long.”
“Are we having the same donuts when you come home from work again?” His youngest daughter grinned at him, showing her imperfect white teeth.
“Sure, if that’s what you ask of me, my princess,” he smiled, patting his daughter’s head. She enthusiastically beamed but the older one grimaced.
“No daddy. I don’t want it. That’s sweet and my friends said it has too much calories in it. It’s making me fat, you see,” her other daughter casted her quizzical frown, showing her belly to him.
“There’s nothing wrong with being fat. What matters is what is in your heart. Besides, you’re not fat and you are beautiful in and out, my sweet. Don’t worry, daddy will always love you even if you get fatter than fat,” he patted his daughter’s head and kissed it. “You just have to sleep tonight and wait for daddy to come home.”
“What if you won’t come home?” One daughter said, frowning.
Thinking of the appropriate answer to that question, tiny beads of sweat instantaneously excreted from his glands.
“Then you have to do me a favor and be strong for mommy,” he blurted out, poker faced. “Will you do that for daddy?”
“Are you not coming home?” The room became silent; the morning music from the radio filled the tension with spirit.
“No princess. Daddy’s coming home for you,” he smiled sweetly.
The kids’ faced brightened, “promise?”
“That’s our promise!” He sealed their promise with their pinky finger.
One time, he came home being taught of the ‘pinky swear’ by his daughters which they claimed a seal of their promises and secrets.
The meal was delicious and he was enjoying his cup of coffee until it was time to leave. “I need to get going now,” he announced.
“I thought so. Please take care of yourself while you’re away from us. I couldn’t do that for you so you should do it for us,” she looked at him and bowed to help the kids off the stool.
Stan nodded walking to the main door and they followed him out. Stan and his family were standing on the doorstep. He has already put his things in his car. It wasn’t the first time that he’ll leave them for a long business trip but it was as though difficult for him to leave them.
“You too.” It might take him a day away from home so he whispered his ‘I love yous’ and kissed them goodbye.
He opened the car door and slid in. After turning the engine on and strapping his seatbelt, he pulled from the driveway and drove off. He can still see his family through the rear view mirror, waving at him while repeatedly shouting “we’ll wait for you, daddy.”
‘This is going to be a long drive’, he thought.
The drive was quiet and deafening but all he wanted to do was to reach his destination and finish his work before the sun sets to the east. He turned the car music on, dancing through the day all throughout the journey. After almost six hours of hitting the road, he finally reached his work area. Stan glanced around the area and hurriedly took the scene onto his plate. He is adamant to finish his work quickly or else he’d be stuck in the city for the night.
As soon as he finished working, he headed back home with his playlist on the car radio. He was happily singing to the tune of the music. The sun was still hot but some cloud formations are scudding the sky. When he was crossing the Tallahassee city bounds, an abrasive emergency alert tone audibly took over the music. From a flat and grinding sound, the noise gradually changed into a high-frequency invariable tone. The excitement on his face shifted into a worried look. And all of a sudden, his car halted and his phone died.
Abruptly, he restarted the engine but it won’t budge. He moved out from his seat and walked towards the west, cursing. Various cars are lined along the road and people started wandering. He glanced at the east side of the road and the scene was similarly comparable. Deciding to assess the situation, he tried to talk to some people. But it was as if everyone was losing sanity.
The family that planned for a vacation were stuck in the traffic as well as everyone that actually drove off to be with their family at home. Shattered glasses are on the ground, the power loss has caused an accident a few miles from where Stan was standing.
People were everywhere. There were children, families, pets and elders. No one was sure what has led them into. The air was filled with buzzes, yelps, and all forms of noises and emergency tones. Some are keeping themselves calm but others are starting to lose control with the scourging heat overpowering them. The cars were improperly aligned from the road while others seemed to have collided with the others. Walking back to his car, Stan was in deep thought. Wondering what the commotion was all about, he was left with two probable reasons in mind.
“What’s happening?” A stranger in her mid-thirties, looking prim and proper with her form-fitting red dress, startled Stan whom he thought couldn’t elucidate what was happening. “I can’t access my phone and my car was stuck. What’s going on? My gosh! I will be late in my appointment. Do you mind if I could borrow your car? I really need to get to the office before my client will go berserk.”
“We are experiencing the same, miss. And I couldn’t think of any probable cause. But…” Stan suddenly stopped midsentence and gawked at the stranger.
Remembering what he once read and watched on the internet, he continued, “I guess we are under electromagnetic radiation or solar flare which causes for the electric power to shut down.”
Stan came up with an initial conclusion that it’s either evolving in two phases: the electromagnetic pulse (EMP) or the coronal mass ejection (CME). The lady left with an eyebrow raised as he watched her go back to her car and tried to restart the engine. It appeared like she thought Stan was out of his mind, clueless of what he was talking about. Out of the corner of his eyes, he could see people milling with the same level of curiosity, panic, and worry in each other’s faces.
He checked his phone once more, but it remained dead. What if his family is affected too? The possibility of mass damage could also mean his family is experiencing the disruptive electric or solar flares. He couldn’t get in touch with his family. He is much more worried about them rather than about his self. Oblivion clouded the sky and Stan have fully decided.
With conviction, he has already planned to go home quickly as possible. The sun already set. The darkness has started to consume the night but people are still out waiting for something to happen. Stan chose to sleep the night out and start his journey early morning of tomorrow. The sudden situation left him no other option but to leave his car on the road and start journeying by feet.
‘I will go home and I’m going to see my family,’ he muttered into thin air and dozed off.
“No!” Stan sat up straight in his seat, his eyes clamped tight. “No!” he whimpered, his eyes flew open and shook his head. It was all a bad dream. He buried his face in his hands, drenched in perspiration. The sun was already peeping through his car window so he stretched out and got ready for what’s waiting for him with uncertainty.
In his dream, he saw dark powers invading the world. There were drops of blood everywhere as he watched his wife interact to a vague, shadowy figure that he can’t recognize who the person is, not even the gender. He watched helplessly as the figure pointed the muzzle of a gun onto his family. Gun shots, pools of blood, and darkness seemed to reiterate the emotion of the scene. He gritted his teeth and clasped his knuckles tightly.