EMP

by Jonathan Hollerman

  “I gotta get my little A-man!” Kyle said, pulling his arm free from Sean’s grasp.

  “Kyle!” Sean said loudly to get his attention. “Hold on just a second, please!” Kyle kept putting his coat on so Sean quickly continued “Your son is safe at school right now. It’s going to be two or three days before things start turning ugly. An extra ten minutes at school won’t matter to A-Man, but the information I give you upstairs may save his life and your life in the future...please.” Sean pleaded with his friend as he stared him in the eyes. Kyle’s fear and his concern for his family was evident but he had stopped and just stood there looking back at Sean.

  “I suppose you’re right,” Kyle said slowly.

  “What the hell is going on, young man?” the old man asked loudly; obviously not happy with being ignored.

  “We’ve been attacked. And this time, unlike 9/11, the death toll will be in the millions, not thousands.”

  “What are you talking about?” he asked again, still agitated.

  “Come upstairs with us and I’ll explain everything. Is there anyone else here, Kyle?” Kyle was just standing there, staring off into space. “Kyle!” Sean yelled getting his attention.

  His head snapped up and he stuttered. “Uh...no. Just Carla and I. Bob had court today.”

  “Ok then, let’s go. We need to hurry. I’ve got a long walk home and I’ve gotta get out of here soon if I’m gonna make it by dark.”

  They left Kyle’s office and made their way up the dark staircase. It seemed like an eternity in the darkness as they waited for the elderly couple to tediously climb the three flights of stairs. As they entered the office, Sean led the small party back to the conference room which was packed, standing room only. Sean received some quizzical looks as he led the strangers into the room. He stepped to the front of the room and looked around. There were some missing faces. “Is this everyone, Gerald?” he asked as he looked at his old friend.

  “Just about. Wyatt, Walter, Conner and Alex are in Walter’s office in a meeting. They should be on their way back in a few minutes.”

  “Okay, I’ll be right back.” Sean hurriedly walked to the far end of the office dropping his garbage bag full of clothes off at his desk. Without knocking Sean walked in to his boss’ office. “I need all of you to come back to the conference room right now, it’s important.”

  “Yeah, Gerald said you had something important you wanted to share,” Walter said with a courteous smile. “But we’re in the middle of something important. Can you give us a few minutes, please?”

  “No I cannot, Walter,” Sean said seriously. That was definitely not the answer Walter was expecting. “This company is officially bankrupt and anything you are discussing won’t matter five minutes from now.”

  “What the heck are you talking about Sean?” Wyatt said with an incredulous chuckle. Wyatt and Walter were the co-founders of Speednet. Although they were extremely wealthy, Sean had never met two people more down to earth and gracious. They held an open door policy and took the time each day to speak with every one of the thirty-two employees in the office. Each time the company hit a milestone, generous bonuses were handed out and they would buy champagne and toast to their employees’ hard work. Sean had never worked for anyone he respected more than the two men who sat before him.

  In his most gracious yet serious voice Sean pleaded, “Please, I really need you to just trust me. Something very bad has happened and it’s extremely important that you come back to the conference room with me right now.”

  Sensing the urgency in Sean’s face, Wyatt said, “Okay guys; let’s wrap this up for now. We’ll pick it back up after lunch.” He nodded to Sean.

  “Thank you, Wyatt.” The four of them followed him out the door and Sean looked around at the waist high cubicles of the main office.

  “If anyone is still at their cubicle, we need you back in the conference room right away,” Wyatt said in his loud booming voice. One of the newest employees, Katie, stood up as they walked by. She grabbed a notepad and pencil and followed their procession back to the conference room. It was tight but they all managed to squeeze their way into the room. Everyone was whispering and looking in his direction as he wormed his way to the front.

  Tom was sitting next to him on a filing cabinet “Hey, Tom. Can I use that?” Sean asked, pointing to his makeshift seat.

  “Sure,” Tom said as he jumped up and took a knee down front so he wouldn’t be in the way. In one swift motion, Sean hopped up on the filing cabinet so everyone could see him. As he turned back towards his coworkers the room fell silent. He had a quick flashback to his days as a US Air Force Survival Instructor and teaching large classes of aircrew members from a podium.

  Sean cleared his throat and looked at the faces around him. “How many people in here have their cell phones on them? Can you please turn them on for me?”

  “I have mine but it’s not working right now,” Dominic said from his left. “Me too,” two of his other coworkers said in unison. Sean watched as five or six others fumbled with their devices. “That’s really weird... Mine’s not working either,” someone said from the back.

  “That’s right,” Sean said. “And they’re never going to work again.” Sean paused for a moment, sighed, and said, “I believe America has just been attacked with an EMP or we’ve been hit by a large solar flare.” He saw recognition and fear on a few faces but for the most part everyone just stared at him, confused.

  Chapter 3

  “EMP stands for Electromagnetic Pulse. An electromagnetic pulse is the byproduct of a nuclear explosion or a really large solar flare. If a large enough nuke or a specialized Super EMP weapon were to be detonated high enough in our atmosphere, the gamma rays would interact with our atmosphere in some way that they produce something called a Compton Effect. The same thing could happen from a large solar flare. The only reason I don’t think it is a solar flare is that we would have had some warning before it struck. While I’m not a scientist and I can’t really explain it in great detail, I have done years of research on the effects. Any electronic device with small circuitry, which today is pretty much everything, is fried beyond repair. So it’s very important that you understand the magnitude of what I’m saying.

  “There is no more internet, there is no more financial system, any money you had in the bank is gone. The nationwide electrical grid is fried. That means no more heat or A/C at your house. No phone will work, so you will have no way of communicating with anybody or traveling unless you have a vehicle made before the late ’70s. All commerce nationwide is shut down. That means when the supermarket shelves are empty, they are empty forever. Our nation’s infrastructure is completely dependent on technology and America does not function without electricity.

  “There was a Congressional commission put together to assess the threat of an EMP. All kind of scientists and military personnel were brought together and they spent years running tests. Back in 2008 they were brought before Congress to report their findings. You know what happened? Our brilliant government decided to release the 9/11 commission report on the same day so no one heard anything about this. The news channels were pre-occupied.

  “Well, I read that report and it scared the crap out of me, which is why I have been preparing for this the last couple years. The scientists and military experts that put this report together believe that we would lose as high as ninety percent of our population to sickness, disease, hunger, and murder over the next twelve months. I remember them portraying an EMP attack as a giant continental time machine taking us back to the 1800’s. They listed off and discussed a bunch of countries that had the technology: Russia, China, North Korea... but I guess it doesn’t really matter who did it at this point. They also said that our military and government is largely unprotected as well. So if you’re expecting help from our government and military, don’t. No one is coming to save the day.”

  Sean looked around at his coworkers who were speechless. “I am not trying to scare an
ybody, but you need to realize that your life as you know it is over. You need to start thinking about how to protect your family and survive the months ahead. When you leave here today, you are going to be ahead of the game. Ninety-five percent of Americans have no idea what an EMP attack means, what is going on, or what will happen. Without communications, a lot of them will never know what happened.

  “My first piece of advice is to get out of this city. You’ve got about seventy-two hours before panic sets in. Most people don’t have more than four or five day’s worth of food in their house at most. What do you think is going to happen two weeks from now when the majority of the 1.4 million people that live in this city haven’t eaten for three or four days. Or worse yet, when they haven’t been able to feed their kids for three or four days. Desperate people are the most dangerous kind. There will be looting and rioting on a scale that has never been seen before. Within a month, every major city in this country will burn to the ground. Please trust me on this. You have to get out of this city!

  “This is especially true for those of you who live in upscale neighborhoods. Most inner city people are headed to your neighborhoods first. Rich people have tons of food right?” Sean said sarcastically. “You guys need to realize that a big portion of our food supply comes from Mexico and South America. The food we do grow out in the Midwest has no way to get here. This country can no longer sustain its current population of over three hundred million and we are no longer a nation of self-reliant people like we once were. We haven’t been for a very long time. Very few people know how to grow food, or can food, hunt, or build a fire. You also have a large segment of population that is completely dependent on government and their fellow man to survive. The government is not coming to help, neither is the Army. The military is in the same boat as everyone else. They are still just people and I’m guessing a lot of them will desert to go home and protect their families from the looters and riots.

  “Now where does that leave us? You are going to have to take care of yourself and your family, on your own, from here on out. I cannot give you specific advice because everyone’s situation is different. But, here are the four basics: water, protection, food and knowledge in that order.

  “Let’s start with water. If you are on public water, you are on a timetable. Once the pressure in the lines is gone, your sinks and faucets will not work. This will probably happen in the next few hours or so. The first thing you need to do is fill up every tub and sink in your house with water including every container you can find like large storage Rubbermaids. At some point your water will run out. Don’t forget about the water in your hot water tank and the tank on your toilets. There will also be some water in your house pipes. You can collect this by turning on all your faucets throughout the house after the water runs out and gravity should force the water to the sink in the lowest part of your house or basement. At some point, you are going to be collecting water from a nearby stream or creek. If you do not want to get sick, don’t forget to either boil it for a full minute or add four drops of bleach per quart or an eighth of a teaspoon per gallon. Make sure you use regular bleach like Clorox or Purex and nothing with perfumes or additives in it. If you are bugging out of town, make sure you take the bleach with you so you can collect water while you travel. Without water, you won’t last long so make this your first priority when you get home.

  “Next, let’s talk about protection. This includes protection from the elements as well as other people that may try and take what you have. Make sure you dress in layers. Be sure to take plenty of extra socks and under shirts with you. Wet socks will cause blisters and keep your feet from staying warm. Make sure you change your undershirt before you go to sleep if it’s wet or sweaty. Same goes with your blankets. In this weather, do not go to bed with wet clothes, blankets or sleeping bags. If they are wet from the night before, you need to fully dry them by a fire before sleeping in them or you may not wake up.

  “If you are going to be travelling, take a tent or a tarp with you. Don’t plan on sleeping under the stars during this time of year. If the weather gets serious, you may need to find a barn or vacant building to hold up for the night. Be very, very careful here. Make sure you knock, be as non-threatening as possible and explain your intentions. Say something like ‘I’m just trying to take shelter from the storm with my family. We don’t want any trouble, if there is someone here please let us know and we’ll move on down the road.’ Just be very careful, even though no one answers at first, they may be just hiding and scared. You need to make sure they don’t perceive you as a threat.

  “Next, I want to discuss personal protection. If you are planning on staying at home you need to board up your first floor windows and put a dresser or something heavy in front of your door. At some point, I guarantee someone will to try and get in. It’s just a matter of time. I hope each of you have a gun in your house. If not, I would brainstorm and try and figure out a way to get one. Beg from your neighbors. Sign over the title to your car; whatever you can do. Your chances of peacefully procuring a gun two weeks from now are non-existent. If you have a gun now, my first stop on my walk home would be the sporting goods store. Write them a check. If they don’t take it, try and find a manager that will trade you for your watch, leather jacket or anything valuable you can scrounge out of your car. Get as much ammunition as you can barter for. It will be worth more than gold over the coming months and years.

  “If you are going to be leaving town like I suggested and you don’t own a gun, make sure you carry some kind of weapon on you. Carry a baseball bat, hammer, or fireplace poker, anything you can find. Make sure you carry it in your hand and when you cross paths with other people, be sure to stare them down. Do not be taken off guard by getting into a conversation with some nice woman only to have it turn into an ambush. The only words you say are ‘back off!’ and ‘get away from my family!’ You need to pretend you are the baddest MoFo on the block. Puff up your chest, walk with a purpose, and stare them down like a professional fighter would. If you act timid or scared, you are portraying an easy target.

  “Please, I beg each and every one of you to get everything together tonight and start out at first light. Travelling over the next two to three days should be relatively safe. Most people are just going to be confused or scared. If you try and stick it out at your house and realize two weeks from now that things are ten times worse than I described they would be; you are screwed. If you are pushing grocery carts full of supplies through the city two weeks from now, you best be prepared to shoot your way out of Pittsburgh. Heaven forbid you wait two weeks and decide to leave town without a gun or two. Because someone else will have a gun and they will take everything you own including the baseball bat they pry out of your cold dead fingers. Who knows what they might do with your wife and kids. I truly hope I am painting a bleak enough picture for you. With no police or military and no law and order it is going to be survival of the fittest. The biggest meanest man with the biggest meanest gun will be the last one standing at the end of the day.

  “I believe that two months from now you will have the strong surviving half of the population in this country locked inside their homes starving, desperate and scared to death. Meanwhile you can expect the thugs and gangsters in Pittsburgh and other major cities around the country to put aside their differences and form coalitions of well armed gangs with one purpose; looting, rioting and raping. Do not doubt me on this! I can see the wheels turning in some of your heads. You are sitting there thinking, ‘This is America’ and everyone will work together, hold hands, and sing Kumbaya. Don’t be a fool! In times of natural disasters, that might be the case, but when you take away people’s food and water, it changes the situation drastically. If you look at history around the world, the places where the worst atrocities are committed are the countries in famine. You end up with chaos with ruthless warlords murdering, raping, and looting all for power. DO NOT THINK FOR ONE SECOND AMERICA WILL BE ANY DIFFERENT! It is human nature!


  “The third thing to consider is food. Most grocery stores in this country have electronic registers and you are unlikely to be able to barter with the manager of a large corporate grocery store. Go home and find the smallest, most valuable items you can like jewelry. Go to the mom and pop stores, gas stations and mini marts. Barter with an employee or manager for as much food as you can. Try to get primarily canned goods, but anything is better than nothing. Try and procure a grocery cart for each member or the family old enough to push it while you travel. The major looting of grocery stores will probably start three to four days from now. You do not want to wait till then. The looting will turn violent very quickly as desperate people fight over a single can of soup. For those of you staying at home, spend every waking minute the next four days gathering as much food as possible because a week from now I would only leave my house in the most dire of circumstances.

  “For those of you who don’t have family or someone you know within walking distance that lives rurally, I still wouldn’t stay in the city. My recommendation would be to head out and start approaching farmers at least one hundred miles from a major city that live well off a major highway. Explain to them what is going on. Offer to help provide security for the farm. It helps here if you have a gun. But let them know you will help keep watch over the farm at night. Offer to help in the planting and harvesting this spring and any other work around the farm. Make sure they understand this will have to be done by hand from here on out unless they have an old tractor and enough fuel stockpiled to run it. Offer them all this in trade for room and board. Be sure you feel them out here and use your discernment. They are going to be part of your family now and you don’t want to move in with someone you have a bad feeling about. Try and find an older couple that could benefit from your strong hands and back and you can benefit from their knowledge of growing crops and canning. If you are going to go this route, my first stop today after ammunition, would be a local Trader Caleb’s, Farmers Market or a feed store. Procure as much seed as you can possibly barter for; carrots, potatoes, lettuce, tomatoes and large bags of corn seed. Anything you can grow and eat. Most farmers haven’t bought their seed for this spring yet and having seed could seal the deal for room and board. It doesn’t matter what your plan is, seed is going to be worth its weight in silver three months from now. Don’t forget to keep it dry!