EMP (Book 4): Desolation

by Ison, S. A.

  “Christ I’m tired.” Perrin groaned, digging through his pack. He pulled out a packet of dehydrated beef stroganoff.

  “Yeah, that’s a hell of a walk. Tomorrow let’s see if we can push farther.” Tomi suggested.

  “I can go all day, but yond mess over there won’t.” Liev nodded to Jack and Norman. Jack’s hand was shaking as he tried to feed himself. Norman was weeping and eating. Linda was still asleep. Tomi would wake her in an hour, so she could eat.

  “Look, we go as far as we can go, and maybe each day we’ll go a little further.” Dawn suggested, eating her dinner.

  “It’s all we can do, hopefully as the days go one, their stamina will increase. Jack, I’d not eat any more than one dinner, the food you carry will have to last you. You’ll not get any of ours.” Tomi said, seeing Jack dig out another packet of food.

  “But I’m still hungry. And who the fuck are you to tell me how much I can eat?” Jack said, his low chins jutting out defiantly.

  “Hey numbnuts, this shit is loaded with sodium, you eat that much and you’ll have a friggen stroke. You run out of food, and if you think you’re hungry now, you’ll be losing your mind, when you got nothing to eat but grass. Tomi isn’t being an asshole, surprisingly, but he is watching out for you. If you don’t like it, hit the road Jack and don’t ya come back.” Liev sniggered and winked at Dawn, who snorted and rolled her eyes.

  Jack grunted and shoved the packet back into his bag. Tomi shook his head and laughed low at Liev, he was a peacemaker and a threat. He used humor to make a point and Jack had listened. He hoped that Jack wouldn’t become a problem or liability.

  “Jack, you know you can eat all you want, I won’t stop you. But know this, we’ll leave you if you become a liability. We are facing a hell of a long walk. All we have is more than likely all we’ll ever have until we get to my uncle’s cabin. We maybe walking for weeks. Weeks. You’re going to have to decide whether you want to live with eating a small amount at a time or die full. We’re all hungry Jack, hell, Liev can eat three times what you can, but you see that he’s only eaten one packet.” Tomi said softly, rubbing his face tiredly.

  “I’m hungry as hell too, but I’m only eating a small portion, I want it to last. Now if we catch a rabbit or some fish, then you can eat your fill of that. Think about those folks who will be out of food in a few days and there are no supplies coming. They will starve to death.” Perrin said solemnly.

  “Fine, I got it, okay. I got it.” Jack said petulantly, his lower lip now sticking out. Tomi sighed heavily. No, he didn’t really get it and he was pretty sure that the man would chew through his food while they slept. He’d been warned. Tomi wasn’t the food police, nor did he want that job. But he wasn’t going to enable the idiot. If the man ate all his food too fast, then he’d starve. Or they’d have to run him out of their group. Their lives were on the line now and Tomi didn’t have the time nor desire to coddle the man.

  “We’ll this has been pleasant, but I gotta go take a dump. I only warn you, cause you don’t want to be anywhere near me.” Liev sniggered, looking at Dawn. She barked out a laugh and turned bright pink.

  “Christ, you’re just gross Liev.” She was laughing and shaking her head. Liev got up and took a few wet wipe packets with him and disappeared into the woods.

  “I suggest no one go that way.” Perrin laughed.

  “Linda, dear, wake up. You need to eat and then you can go back to sleep.” Tomi said, shaking the older woman’s shoulder. Her eyes fluttered open and she sat up, smiling.

  “That felt good to sleep.” She said, straightening up. She rocked her head back and forth, then rolled it, getting the kinks out of her neck. Tomi helped her prepare a meal. Then went to sit back down.

  “So, Perrin, how the hell old are you? You look younger than me, but I know you’re not.” Tomi asked, watching the other man, who snorted and grinned.

  “I just turned the big five zero.”

  “Fifty? Holy shit, no way. Christ, you must have some kind of super gene.” Tomi laughed and shook his head.

  “My grandpappy died at eighty-eight. The man didn’t look a day over sixty.”

  “You bastard.” Tomi laughed hard, stroking his graying beard.

  “Hey, buddy, black don’t crack.” Perrin snorted, his eyes crinkling up and he grinned. Liev stumbled back in, theatrically feigning exhaustion. Tomi pointedly ignored him, watching Dawn watch him. He smiled softly, there was interest there and perhaps a little romance for the two might be in their future. Liev went to set beside her and she laughed at what he’d said and bumped him with her elbow.

  “I see a love match there.” Perrin said softly.

  “Ya think?” Tomi laughed softly.

  “Ahhhh post-apocalyptic romance.” Linda sighed, looking at both men. She smiled and sat down beside them.

  “How are you feeling Linda?” Tomi asked, feeding another stick to the small fire. They’d let it go out as the shadows overtook them. Tomi didn’t want a beacon, showing their location. It was warm out, and they’d not need the heat of it. They also had thermal sleeping bags which would keep them warm at night.

  “Better, thank you. I walk a lot in the store, you know, always on the move, but nothing like this. Thank you for letting me take a nap, that helped.”

  “I’m sorry I pushed so hard, I was afraid if we stayed anywhere near town, there’d be trouble we wouldn’t want.” Tomi said, smiling. In the far distance, they heard the crackle of gunfire. Tomi watched as Jack and Norman set their sleeping bags out. Both crawled in and within minutes, their snores were bouncing against the trees.

  “Hopefully I’ll do better tomorrow. I do feel better after that nap. It’s nice and peaceful out here. I used to go camping with my husband early in our marriage. We just got so busy with the business. Then we sold it, hoping to travel. When he died, I had to go back to work.” She smiled sadly and shrugged.

  “Life sure is funny.” Perrin said, shaking his head, he got up and looked at Tomi.

  “I’m going to walk the perimeter, make sure we’re not around anyone’s property. That way, we should be able to sleep tonight without setting a watch.” Perrin added, standing up and stretching.

  “Sounds good, maybe as we go, we can find places to camp that will afford us privacy.” Tomi nodded, and watched as Perrin walked out into the woods.

  “You and Perrin seem like you know what you’re doing.” Linda said.

  “We both served in the military, he was army, I was air force.”

  “If you don’t mind me asking, how on earth did you wind up in prison?”

  Tomi smiled crookedly, he’d told this tale many times.

  “My sister committed the crime with her boyfriend. She tricked me into confessing and taking blame for the crime. Sadly, she paid for that mistake with her life. Her boyfriend killed her and himself.”

  “Oh Tomi, dear, I’m so sorry. I remember reading about that. Why didn’t they let you go?”

  “Judge refused, since I confessed. It doesn’t matter, I finished my education inside, which was what I had planned to do when I’d gotten out of the air force. I just wished I could have helped my sister.” He shrugged and smiled when she patted him on the back.

  “I guess Perrin said it best, life sure is funny.”

  “What’s the plan for tomorrow?” Liev asked, joining Tomi, Dawn sat beside him and Tomi had to bite the inside of his cheek to keep from grinning. Apocalyptic romance indeed.

  “We’ll continue on route 60 until we hit route 180 and travel down that until we hit 1937, on Bear Creek Road and travel that.”

  “That sounds like a long way.” Linda said worried.

  “Not really, we’ll travel at a moderate rate. We’re out of town, so we don’t have to rush. We’ll take breaks periodically and like today, we’ll stop before nightfall. I’m not wanting to draw attention with a fire at night. So, figure we build a fire, cook, eat and then let it die out.” Tomi explained.

  “That so
unds good, and since it’s still relatively warm, we don’t have to worry about needing the heat. We have the solar lanterns to use if we need to see or flashlights.” Dawn added.

  Everyone turned when a branch snapped and Perrin came through the trees. They waited until he got situated to hear what he had to say.

  “Didn’t see any structures, nor anyone up or down the road, wandering. It’s getting late enough in the evening, people are going to hunker down for the night. I think we can safely sleep without detection. I would suggest keeping your weapons close.” Perrin smiled tiredly and the group nodded.

  “What do you think we’ll find on the road? People wise I mean.” Linda asked softly, no one felt the need to talk loudly. The shadows were now muting the world around them. The birds had stopped singing and the night insects and frogs began their serenade. It was still warm and there wasn’t much of a breeze. The fire was now burning out and left to die.

  “I don’t think a lot. There maybe people on the road, but they may only be walking to get home or to the nearest town. In town is where most of the trouble will be. By virtue of how we look and what we carry on our backs will garner us looks, but hopefully not much else. The weapons we carry openly will more or less keep people away from us.” Tomi said.

  “Except for knucklehead here.” Dawn grinned and elbowed Liev, who still had the blue permanent marker on his face. He looked down at her offended.

  “Knucklehead? Knucklehead? My dear, I do protest.” He said in a highborn British accent and caused Dawn to giggle. He laughed himself and shrugged.

  “Yeah, Liev is such a big guy, besides the blue warpaint, there’s no way to hide him.” Tomi laughed.

  “Now, you’re hurting my feelings. Why would you want to hide this?” Liev said, indicating his body and then flexed his arms, showing off his hidden muscles. He leaned his head and kissed his bicep. Perrin snorted and shook his head. He reached over to his bag and took one of the solar lanterns and cracked it just a bit. A blazing brilliant light shot out from the crack. It was brighter than the fire had been.

  “Wow, those things put off some light.” Tomi said.

  “They do, and they’d be like a beacon in the night, so guess we should be very careful using them.” Perrin suggested. Linda got up and stretched, she went to her bag and took wet wipe packets out and disappeared into the woods, Dawn got up as well and did the same.

  “Why do women do that?” Liev asked, scratching his head of wild hair.

  “Who knows.” Tomi laughed.

  Within an hour, it was dark and everyone settled into their sleeping bags. Tomi and Perrin situated their NVGs by their head, Liev and Dawn each had a pair, but they’d left them in their packs. Soon, there were soft snores filling the woods.

  Tomi wasn’t sure what woke him, his eyes blinking. He didn’t move, waiting to see if he heard it again. He didn’t know what time it was, but was sure it was around midnight or just after. He heard it then, a rustling. He lifted his NVGs quietly and looked through them. He scanned the woods and then the camp. He saw Jack digging in his pack, pulling out food and eating it. The granola energy bars. He sighed. The man was a fool. They’d have to watch him, he’d let Perrin, Liev and Dawn know to keep an eye on him. He wouldn’t put it pass the man to steal the other’s food.

  Tomi closed his eyes and went back to sleep. If Jack wanted to die faster, Tomi wasn’t going to stop the obdurate man. It wasn’t his job to monitor another man’s habits and appetites.

  =

  Jack gritted his teeth at the noise. He looked around, but could not see any movement. His hand slipped back into his pack, and he found what he was looking for. Christ, he was so hungry. He’d never remembered being this hungry in his life. It had pissed him off to no end when Tomi opened his big mouth. Just because he wasn’t guilty of a crime, didn’t give him the right to dictate what he could and couldn’t eat. Then that friggen giant, Liev butted in and then Perrin.

  He’d given up and figured he’d eat what he wanted when they all went to sleep. He wasn’t going to argue. If he didn’t get the food he needed, there was no way he could walk tomorrow. The walk had damn near killed him today. Christ. He’d sweated so much, he was still wet and his clothing stuck to him. He felt nasty and he missed being at FCI. At least there, he could eat what he wanted and shower. Jesus. If he could have walked back there and left these people, he would have.

  And then that big goon had antagonized those drunks. Jack was pretty damned sure they didn’t have to kill them all, all they had to do was go up another street and leave them to their drinking. But no. they had to get involved. Christ, they could have all been killed. He breathed a deep sigh when he took a bite of the granola energy bar. He chewed it slowly and drank from the camel back thing.

  The water was warm and nearly made him gag. The bar went fast and he dug around for another. His legs were screaming in pain. He wished they’d stopped to pick up pain reliever. He wondered if Tomi was showing off, now that he was free, though he’d have been freed today. Jack mentally shrugged. He was still trying to come to grips with the world coming to an end. EMP, what the hell? He wondered if he should have just taken his chances with staying in town. At least he’d not have to walk all over God’s creation.

  It was of course, too late now. In for a penny and all that shit. His hand went back and pulled out a third bar and ate that quickly. He brushed the crumbs off his face, his stomach feeling halfway full now. He could have eaten a couple more, but figured he’d be responsible like Tomi wanted and hold back. He laid his head back down and looked up into the sky. He sure as hell hoped that Tomi’s uncle had plenty of food. He also hoped he could make the walk there.

  Why did life have to change? He’d had it good in prison. All he wanted to eat, not much to do, unless he wanted. He could watch tv and surf the internet. There were some blocks on the computer, but other than that, life had been pretty sweet. Now, he was with a bunch of food Nazis and was having to walk. Christ. He shifted his bulk; the sleeping bag didn’t zip up around him and he felt parts of his body exposed to the cool night air. He should have brought two bags.

  He sighed heavily again and thought about getting a couple more granola bars out. He shifted again, too tired to sit back up. He snorted and closed his eyes.

  =

  Norman opened his eyes at the noise. He could just barely make out Jack’s form. He didn’t understand why Jack didn’t listen to Tomi and Perrin. Didn’t the man know that at the rate he was eating, he’d go through all his supplies in a hurry? He was glad he’d changed his mind about breaking out on his own. Going all that way to Beattyville alone would have been suicide.

  Norman wiped at the tear that slid down the side of his face. He’d never been a brave man, and had always gone along. He’d never been so frightened in his life, when they’d come across all those drunk men. Jesus, they just stood there, drinking, while a man lay dead at their feet. They didn’t give a shit about him. It had happened so fast, Liev and Perrin, shooting them down. Norman shivered within the confines of the sleeping bag.

  All he wanted to do was run away, but there was no place to go. His only chance was staying with this group. He turned and settled his head on his arm. He’d have to get some sleep; tomorrow would be one hell of a long day.

  =

  Liev sat up, it was still dark, but he could feel that it was predawn. He smiled, he could hear the morning birds begin their chatter. He never tired of it. He looked around at the lumpy forms, sound asleep. He smiled when his eyes landed on Dawn, she looked sweet, asleep. He laughed softly. She had a mouth on her. She was always giving him a ration, but he liked that. He knew she liked him, when they’d sat and talked quietly the night before. He’d put his bag by hers, they talked in the dark and laughed softly, so not to wake the others.

  They’d known each other for years, but there had been a barrier. A taboo line that couldn’t be crossed, of officer and convict, now that line was gone. She seemed to be okay with it as well an
d he was glad. She wasn’t playing coy with him either. She’d looked at him with frank interest and had smiled sweetly at him when he held her hand as they lay in the sleeping bags.

  “You’re not put off by the fact that I’m a hardened criminal?” He’d asked her last night, as all around them snored. She’d sniggered at that and had squeezed his hand.

  “I read your jacket Liev. You were blind drunk and grabbed twenty-eight bucks and was tased before you took three steps away from the teller. Do you even remember?” She had giggled softly.

  “No, honestly, I didn’t. I’d been so upset about my granny, and the fact that the bank was taking her home away. I wasn’t much of a drinker back then. I don’t even remember going to the bank. When I woke the next day, I was so hung over that I’d not realized what kind of stupidity I’d gotten into.” He’d laughed softly.

  “That must have been a horrible feeling and realization, that you were going to prison for ten years.” She’d said softly, no hint of laughter now.

  “Yeah, it was a dark time for me. I was so worried about my grandmother and I was heartbroken that I’d not have the ability to see her or help her. It still bothers me today, but there’s nothing I can do about it. She passed a few years after that. I know I broke her heart.”

  He’d felt her hand squeeze his tightly. They’d been silent for a long time, still holding hands. Around them, Jack snored like a saw mill at high gear. Norman wept in his sleep, his whimpering reaching their ears.

  “You’re a good man Liev, I know that, even though I kid you a lot, but I know you’re a good man. You did something so tremendously stupid, for something sweet.”

  “Don’t hold back, tell me what you really think.” He’d laughed again.

  “Go to sleep knothead.” And she’d fallen asleep holding his hand. His heart felt full and he was happy. He looked over at Tomi, he was still asleep. Liev got up and gathered more branches and started a fire. He kept it low, they all had packets of instant coffee and he figured they’d need it. It took a bit of coaxing, but he got the flame going and added more. The night was receding and he could now make out the branches in the trees around them.