EMP

by Jonathan Hollerman

  “Freakin’ awesome!” Sean exclaimed. Next he pulled out a battle pack of two hundred rounds of military surplus .308 ammunition.

  “You never did buy enough ammo,” Randy chided.

  “And now it’s too late,” Sean agreed.

  “There is also some 9mm, .223, and .308 subsonic in there as well. I was only able to spare two boxes of subsonic as I don’t have a lot extra. I know you probably have enough 9mm and .223, but the more the merrier. Plus it’s less weight I have to carry... literally.”

  “No problem. I have an extra four hundred rounds of 9mm in Maria’s pack and five hundred rounds of .223 in mine. I also have about a thousand rounds of .22 packed in my cart with the 10/22. I only had two boxes of .308 so this is huge. Thanks.”

  “No problem. I just want to make sure you guys reach the retreat in one piece.” Randy looked at him with a serious look mixed with concern.

  “No worries. I have a pretty good route planned, we’ll only travel at night, and I promise you I’m not going to take any chances. What about you? Do you need anything?”

  “Since you asked, I could use some AA batteries if you have a few extra. We used mine last week when we pulled the all-nighter playing Modern Warfare 3 on the Xbox.” Sean smiled at that. “Also, I could use some water purification tablets if you have extra. I can’t find mine anywhere. I think they are all at the retreat.”

  “Yeah, I’ve got a lot of batteries. I hit up a small grocery store on the way home from work yesterday. I was able to get a lot of extra supplies, most of which I’ll leave with my family. I also was able to score some drugs from an Albertson’s pharmacy which I’ll split up and have you take half to the retreat. As far as water tablets, I only have about six bottles, but we can split them. I’m sure three bottles will be fine to get us up there.”

  They went out back where Sean rummaged through his bags looking for the batteries. In the meantime, Randy brought Sean’s rifle and worked on adding the quick mount and threading the silencer to the end. By the time they made it back inside they were frozen from standing in one place in the blowing wind.

  “Geez o man, turn the heat up in here will you? I’m freezing!” Sean said jokingly.

  “Well, why didn’t you say so before? He reached in one of the garbage bags on the wheelbarrow and pulled out a heater attachment for a propane tank.

  “No way,” Sean said in response. “We froze last night.”

  “Not us,” Randy said with a chuckle. “I used the bottle from the grill and it’s pretty low, but I’m not worried about leaving any behind.” They went upstairs to his bedroom where Sean could hear Emily and Maria speaking in low voices.

  “That reminds me...,” Sean started.

  Randy quickly cut him off. “Shhh. The girls are still in bed.”

  “Oh, sorry.” In a quieter voice he started again, “What did you do with all your extra gear? I know you had more stuff than what’s packed on that wheel barrel.”

  “I spent about three hours digging holes in the basement. I don’t know if you realized or ever noticed, but our basement is smaller than the house. There is a crawl space under the back kitchen addition and porch with a dirt floor. I had two large waterproof military surplus medical chests and used some of our large plastic storage bins. It was awful though. There was no room to move around and I had to work primarily off my knees. The hardest part was making it look like it hadn’t been freshly dug up. I swept every square inch of the basement and threw the dust overtop. Hopefully, if we ever need to come back for it someday, it will still be there.”

  “I had a bunch of extra canned goods I didn’t have room for,” Sean said. “I put them in boxes marked ‘books’ and ‘stereo equipment’ and buried them under a pile of other boxes in my basement.”

  They walked into the master bedroom where Emily was going through picture albums with Maria. Sean could tell by her red eyes that she had been crying.

  “You been watching the gear?” Sean asked.

  “Yes,” Maria answered with exasperation. “I know the gear is our livelihood now. I’m not stupid, you know.”

  Sean cringed at the way he had phrased the question. “I know, babe. I wasn’t implying that. I was just making sure.”

  Maria stood up and walked over to her husband for a hug. “I know. I’m sorry. I’m just a little frazzled right now.” Sean kissed her on the forehead not needing to say anything else.

  Randy was in the corner of the room, screwing the heater element to the top of the propane tank. “Well, it’s about that time,” he said. “I figured we’d warm up for a few minutes before setting off.”

  “Should I grab Cheyenne?” Emily asked.

  “No, let her sleep a little bit longer,” Randy offered. He lit the heater with a match and within a few minutes, Sean had to take off his tactical vest and coat to keep from sweating. Sean took Maria’s position by the window while she took a seat on the bed next to Emily. They spent a few moments in silence, each one taking in the new reality of their lives.

  Sean broke the silence. “So I take it you are heading straight up to the retreat. Are you taking Highway 28?”

  “Yeah, we need to try and get past New Kensington by tonight if we can. That’s a little over twenty miles. Then I want to get past Kittanning the following night which is another fifty miles. So, needless to say, the next couple days are going to be tough. I figure if we can cover thirty miles a day after that, it should take us about four days to get there.”

  Sean nodded his head in agreement. “I want to try and get past Zelienople by tonight, which is also a little over twenty miles. Then it is only twenty miles again the next day and we should be at my parents’.”

  “Wanna trade routes?” Randy said with a smile.

  “Not in a million years,” Sean fired back with a grin. “Like I’ve said in the past, you are more than welcome to join us.”

  Randy shook his head, “No I don’t think so. I understand why you’re going, and I respect that. But at the same time, I think you guys are going to have a dangerous eighty miles to cover four weeks from now. I want to get to the retreat as soon as possible and get the security there buttoned up with Brody.”

  “I understand,” Sean said with some regret. He would have preferred travelling with the bigger numbers but he agreed with his friend’s priority to keep his family as safe as possible.

  “Well, we better get on the road. It’s almost ten o’clock. We only have about six hours to go twenty miles.”

  “Ugh,” Maria said. “You’re serious about trying to get past Zelienople tonight?”

  Sean looked at his wife. “Absolutely. There aren’t really any safe places to camp between here and there. I intend to ride even after dark if we need to. After Zelienople, it’s pretty rural and I want to put all the major towns behind us.” Maria nodded her head in agreement.

  They spent the next few minutes enjoying the quiet warmth of the room. It would probably be the last true warmth they would experience in the next few days, or in Randy and Emily’s case, the next four. Shortly after, Emily left the room and brought Cheyenne back to the room to dress her. She was still sleepy and clung to Emily looking around the room with heavy eyelids. She broke the silence by saying, “Mommy, why is it so cold in my room?” Sean was saddened by the thought of all the young children across the country that would be waking up cold today. Most people hadn’t prepared for this day and the children were going to pay a heavy price without understanding that the world without its modern conveniences could be a dark and desperate place. How do you explain an EMP attack to a three-year-old? Sean looked over at his pregnant wife, worried about the exertion of the trip ahead and how he would have to find a doctor to deliver his child a few months from now. To think that only a day earlier, he had been concerned about his child’s future life because of stupid politics.

  “The heater broke, Honey,” Emily replied as she slowly stroked Cheyenne’s hair. “We’re going on a long trip today... an adventure.
But it’s cold outside and I need you to help me get your winter clothes on, ok?”

  “But I don’t like being cold, mommy,” Cheyenne protested.

  “That’s why we’ve got to get you all bundled up Sweetie, okay? We want to make sure you are nice and toasty warm on our adventure.” Cheyenne acquiesced and let go of Emily’s neck and lay on the bed so her mother could take her pajamas off. Maria looked over at her husband and smiled at him. She was looking forward to having their first child regardless of the circumstances.

  “Randy, can you get Penelope up and check her diaper? We need to get her bundled up and ready to go as well,” Emily asked.

  “I’ll do it.” Maria jumped up. Without waiting for a response, Maria moved over to the basinet and went to work next to Emily. Maria loved kids and had always been a natural. Sean liked children as well, but was a bit more uncomfortable around them. Even so, he had formed a really close bond with his nieces and nephews. At family get-togethers, they would always run up and give Uncle Sean a big hug first. He didn’t understand their obsession with him but Maria noticed it and loved it.

  Feeling unneeded, Sean turned to his friend and asked, “Do you want me to help you move your gear outside?” Randy nodded yes. He walked over and tickled Cheyenne’s bare belly, producing a little squeal of delight, than kissed her on the forehead. Sean put on his coat and tactical vest as Randy turned the propane heater off. He wanted to make sure it had time to cool before throwing it back in with the rest of his supplies. They made their way back downstairs and after ten minutes or so had everything ready to go on the front sidewalk.

  “If you wanna keep an eye on our stuff, I’m going to check and see if the girls are ready to go,” Randy said.

  “Ok.” A thought burst into Sean’s head as his friend was heading up the walk. “I almost forgot. The one wheel on my cart is pretty squeaky. Do you have any WD40 handy?”

  “I’m pretty sure I have a bottle downstairs. Let me check.” While they were inside, Sean re-situated their Alice packs on the carts. That’s when the stroller Randy and Emily had for Cheyenne caught his eye. With their baby months away still, Sean hadn’t started researching strollers yet. This one was made by a company called BOB and it had three large wheels that looked like it was designed to take it hiking. Sean smiled at the thought of Randy and Emily stroller shopping. This was definitely Randy’s pick. A few minutes later Randy emerged, followed by Maria carrying Cheyenne and Emily with Penelope bundled in a framed backpack designed for carrying children.

  “Now, that is pretty sweet,” Sean said to Randy while pointing at Emily.

  “Yeah, we picked that up on Amazon when we had Cheyenne so we could still go hiking. Never did use it though.”

  “It sure looks like it’s going to come in handy now,” Maria said.

  Emily smiled at that. “It sure is. I couldn’t imagine having to carry Penelope in front of me and push the stroller at the same time.”

  “I hope they have some left. I may just have to order one. I wonder if three months from now Amazon will accept SOD: silver on delivery.” With no internet in the near future, that produced a round of chuckles from the group. Randy handed Sean the can of WD40 as Maria placed Cheyenne in the stroller. Sean thoroughly sprayed down all the wheels on the carts then did the same on the bicycles, stroller, and wheelbarrow.

  He tried to hand the can back to Randy but Randy just said “Keep it, just in case you need it again.” Sean agreed and stuffed it into his cart. Without any words of goodbye, Emily walked over and wrapped Maria in a big hug, then did the same with Sean as Maria hugged Randy. Sean stuck out his hand and Randy knocked it aside and the two friends hugged. Both thought of themselves as manly men, but they put that aside for the moment.

  “We’ll see you in month,” Sean said with a smile.

  “I know you will,” Randy agreed reassuringly. “Stay frosty and shoot straight, my friend.”

  “Same to you.” Without another word, they all turned and went their separate ways.

  Chapter 7

  In order to reach the freeway, Sean and Maria had to travel a mile or two through the town of Bellevue, a small suburb of Pittsburgh. It was a quiet ride with dark windows and quiet streets to greet them and with no children out playing in the freshly fallen snow. They only saw a few people out and about who looked at their carts and weapons in bewilderment and surprise. Sean wasn’t taking time to explain or converse though; he had his game face on and stared down anyone they came across. Although it was probably unnecessary this early on, Sean wasn’t taking any chances. At one point they passed a house that was nothing but smoldering ruins. Someone had probably tried to improvise to warm their house with a fire or something stupid. Sean hoped the family had gotten out alive but quickly put it out of his mind, focusing on his surroundings for any sign of threat.

  A few of the larger hills in town forced them to push the bikes instead of ride them. Sean felt most vulnerable at these times as he preferred the faster pace of the bicycles because it wouldn’t give potential looters the opportunity to organize and confront them. By the time they were heading up the last hill leaving town, they were both spent. Maria had asked for a break but Sean refused. It was an extremely hard decision for him to make after watching his pregnant wife struggle, but it just wasn’t safe yet. There were too many houses lining both sides of the street and too many windows. Numerous times Sean had witnessed a curtain moving or the outline of someone in a second story window. Each time he witnessed this made his skin itch. It was like they were the main characters of some zombie movie. To stop and rest now would only embolden someone to come begging for some of their food or worse yet, try and take it. Sean wanted the wide open landscape of the freeway before they rested, that way he could see any potential threats coming from a long way off.

  They pushed through the last hill and Sean stopped them in the middle of the bridge overpass that spanned the highway. The last hill they had climbed had removed them from town and the towering walls of windows. He un-slung his SU-16, and after making sure there was no one around, sat next to Maria on the tailgate of an abandoned pickup truck totally spent.

  “How you doin’, princess?” he asked, concerned.

  “Tired,” she said. “If only I had gone to the gym more often. That membership was a waste.”

  “I hear you. At least you have an excuse for that little belly of yours. Mine is a result of pure laziness the last couple years.” Sean had purchased the Insanity workout DVD’s over a year ago and he had been promising himself every week he would start working out.

  “That was really creepy. It was so quiet riding through town, like something out of a scary movie.” Maria commented.

  “I know. I had the same thought myself. That’s the reason I want to get through Zelienople by tonight. By tomorrow, I think people are going to start figuring it out that the power is not coming back on. They are going to start freaking out, and desperate people can’t be trusted.”

  “What time is it?” Maria asked.

  Sean looked down at his kinetic watch. “It’s just after eleven a.m.”

  “How many miles do we have left?”

  “Oh, I’d say just over twenty. I still think we have plenty of time to get there before nightfall. My biggest concern is that you don’t overexert yourself. Now that we’re on the freeway without any houses, we can take more breaks. How are you doing on water?”

  “Good. I haven’t drank that much.” She reached up to her shoulder and grabbed the hose from the camelback, taking a long swig of water.

  “That’s not good, babe. Even though it’s cold, you can still get dehydrated really easily, especially when sweating. If you do, you’re going to lose energy and we’ll have to slow our pace even further. That could result in us not making it to the farm by tomorrow night. The last thing we want is to spend an extra night out in the woods, right?”

  That was the very last thing Maria wanted to do. “Right,” she agreed as she took another lon
g drink from the camelback.

  “You hungry?” Maria nodded her head in the affirmative, so Sean hopped off the tailgate and grabbed a couple MRE’s out of the top of his pack. He had repackaged their MRE’s into Zip Lock bags to save space. “What do you feel like: Beef Stroganoff or Spaghetti and Meatballs?”

  “Spaghetti, I guess.”

  He came back and poured some water from his canteen into the MRE heater pouches. Placing a meal in each, he leaned them up against the inside of the truck bed to heat. Handing Maria a power bar, Sean hoisted himself up into the truck bed and slowly made a complete circle, checking in each direction for signs of movement. When satisfied they were still alone, he sat back down on the tailgate next to Maria. He tore the wrapper from his granola bar and after a few bites realized how famished he was.

  “Hey Babe, let’s get up and stretch our legs. If we sit still too long in this cold, our legs will turn to jelly.” Sean was already starting to feel his muscles twitch. This was the most exercise he had done in two months since the last backpacking trip with Randy, Damian, Caleb and Brody. Maria followed his lead and they walked over to the edge of the bridge, looking down at the freeway and the cars dotting the road. When the EMP had hit, most drivers had coasted their cars off to the shoulder but there were still a few on the roadway. A few had lost control and gone completely off the road, and even further up the highway Sean could see what looked like a minivan on its roof.

  “Doesn’t this remind you of that movie 28 Days Later, when that guy wakes up out of a coma and goes outside and the city is deserted with empty cars everywhere?”

  “Oh, come on, babe,” Maria exasperated. “I’m freaked out enough as it is. Next you’re gonna have me thinking that zombies are going to be chasing us.”

  Sean laughed at that. “Yeah, well if they do, we’re better prepared than any of those jokers were. We’ve got the right guns for the job and a lot of ammo. I say, bring ‘em on!”