Breakdown: An EMP Survival Thriller (The EMP Terror Series Book 1)

by J. R. Tate

  “I know. I’m the one who hurt him.”

  “What do you want from us?” Sophie’s voice shook and she really didn’t want to know the answer.

  “You realize what’s going on out there, don’t you?” The man lit a lantern, brightening the room better. It was just what Sophie had guessed - a cellar of some sort with boxes on a far wall. Danny was lying in the middle of the floor on his stomach, his face bruising and most importantly, he was still breathing.

  “No. What’s going on out there?”

  “The end of days. We are under attack.”

  “Under attack from who?” Sophie had to take every bit of speculation with a grain of salt but the EMP theory had been tossed around. She wanted to see what their kidnapper had to say about it all.

  “From terrorists. They’ve always hated America. We have the best military so they know they can’t defeat us that way. What better than to completely cripple us by wiping out everything we rely on? Computers, cell phones, electronics - send a pulse through here that sends us into a tailspin. Man, they were right, weren’t they?” He arched his eyebrow and wagged his index finger, laughing.

  “That still doesn’t tell me what you want with me and my friend.”

  “People are dying out there. We are killing each other for food and water to survive. It’s an all out war.”

  Sophie balled her fists and tried to keep from crying. The man was creepy and without Danny’s help, she didn’t think she would ever be able to get away. She didn’t want to leave Danny behind. He needed to wake up. “That still doesn’t answer my question, mister.”

  Looking up, his eyes were almost completely black against the flicker from the lantern. “I need you to help replenish the population. There will be some survivors. We will be left to get America back on its feet.” Stepping close to her, the man ran his fingers down her jawline and rested his hand on her shoulder. “You’re young. You’re beautiful. Perfect genetic makeup to bring us back stronger than ever.”

  Sophie grit her teeth and backed away, dodging his hand as he reached for her again. “You’re not gonna touch me.”

  “No. Not yet, anyway.”

  He walked to Danny and sat next to him, lifting his head off of the cement floor. Danny let out another groan and opened his eyes, making contact with Sophie, though she couldn’t be clear if he knew what was going on.

  “Please, don’t hurt Danny. He can help in your mission.” Sophie was going to tell him what he wanted to hear. If it meant keeping Danny safe, she’d play along. “He’s got a good genetic makeup too.”

  The man grabbed a plastic box from the supplies in the corner and applied first aid to Danny’s face. “You both will know your role in this soon. Until then, don’t you worry. Neither of you are going anywhere.”

  ***

  Jake got back to their campsite around the time the sun was coming up. Becky and Colin were awake but the rest of the group was still sleeping. Becky stood over the fire, warming up something and Colin lifted his head as Jake got closer, a smile brightening up his face when he realized what Jake had accomplished.

  “Holy shit! You come bearing gifts!”

  Jake slid off of the lead horse and tied it to a tree. “A complete stroke of good luck!”

  Becky petted the mane of the horse Jake rode and offered him a cup of coffee, which he gladly took. With no sleep along with his headache, it’d be a long day ahead, but hopefully a much more productive day. “When I saw your note I figured you’d ran off and we’d never see you again. Then you completely redeem yourself with these horses! Where in the heck did you find them?”

  “Up the highway closer to town. It was a ranch that we should probably stop at again on our way through. I didn’t have time to gather supplies but I bet there are some things we could definitely use.”

  “What if we run into the people who actually live there?” Colin asked.

  Jake’s heart sank when the image of the man in the barn flashed in his head. “I don’t think that’s gonna be a problem.”

  “What makes you sure?”

  “I ran across a man in the barn. He killed himself and left a note. He feared the evil headed our way and wanted to go out on his own terms.”

  Becky sighed and shook her head. “Poor man. It really makes you wonder what is going on. We probably won’t ever know.”

  “I have an idea,” Jake replied as he sifted through their snacks. His stomach growled and he needed some nourishment to prepare for the rest of the day. Going only four miles was unacceptable. He wanted to cover lots of ground and get as far as possible before it was time to rest again.

  “What’s your theory on all of this?” Colin spread his hands and smirked. “We’ve heard from Larry and some woman. It’d be interesting to see if your story jives with what they’re thinking.”

  “Let’s not talk about it right now. We should eat and get moving. I wanna make up time from our disaster yesterday. We can tie up the travois to the back of the horses. If the ride gets too rough, Colin, holler at me so I can slow down or adjust for you.” He got closer to Colin and Becky and lowered his voice. “Having these horses is good but it also means we’ll have a target on us. People are already competitive over food and water. They see we have a good way of traveling and they will stop at nothing to get them from us.”

  “With one gun, we won’t last long.” Colin pointed to Jake’s pocket. “We need other ways to protect ourselves.

  “I know.” Jake nodded. “That’s why I wanna stop at the ranch house that I was at last night. I’m certain we’ll find some guns there. Anything we can use, we need to grab. We’re living under different rules now. Killing someone is no longer a crime - it’s a way of survival so we can all get home to our families.” He was saying it out loud to take his own advice - the guilt he felt over the man he had killed at the lake had to go away. It was about the group. More death was inevitable. Jake had to make damn sure it wasn’t going to be anyone in his group.

  “One foot in front of the other, Jake. We’ll get there. We may be going as slow as molasses in wintertime, but we’ll get there.” Becky patted him on the shoulder and gathered up the supplies they had unloaded for the night. “Finding the horses is a giant leap forward. Thank you for doing that last night, even though it was dangerous and probably a little bit stupid.”

  Jake forced a smile. “I never claimed to be a smart man.”

  “Oh, hush. So far, you’ve saved my life and found us better transportation. That’s all we can ask for. And if you expect me to stand here and continue to feed your ego, you’re wrong. Now go load up the travois and get the horses ready.”

  Becky smiled and Jake left her last comment alone. He checked on Colin one more time to make sure the bandage on his wound was fresh and he was still feeling okay. Everything looked normal, including Colin’s morale, which made Jake feel better. Being stuck, unable to walk or help would kill him. He could only imagine what it was doing to his friend.

  “Here we go. Another day closer to home. Let’s do this.”

  CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX

  After Alice’s mental breakdown, she pulled herself together and focused on where Dylan might be. The school was probably her best bet since that was where he was when everything had happened. Taking a deep breath, she stood with Tom and Randi in the living room. Neither of them spoke to her, the silence deafening as all of the possibilities of where her family was ran through her mind.

  “What do you need us to do?” Randi was talking now more than before and it was comforting to know that Alice had support in two people she hardly knew.

  “I don’t know…” Alice trailed off and picked up a family photo off of the shelf, running her fingers over it. “I think… I think I need to get to the high school. Even if Dylan isn’t there they might need help. There could be tons of children there who are stranded.” Alice couldn’t do it alone - the thought of hundreds of scared children who were probably hungry and injured made her kick into nurse mode agai
n, pushing aside all of her personal problems and focusing on helping others survive.

  She double-checked the kitchen one last time, hoping to add to their small stockpile of food she was carrying in her bag but whoever had looted the place left no trail of anything helpful behind. Hurrying out the door, she felt Tom and Randi behind her, matching her step for step as she hurried down the block to the main road that would lead to the school.

  It was ten blocks. Ten blocks wouldn’t take long. But ten blocks also felt like a lifetime when it involved her son and his well-being. Everything moved in slow motion as she broke out into a sprint. Her legs burned, muscles ached and she was running on pure adrenaline. Her body begged for rest but her heart and mind dismissed it – this was her child and she had to find him, pushing her past the breaking point to get there and help wherever she could. Alice didn’t even look over her shoulder to see if Tom and Randi were behind her. None of that mattered.

  Rounding the corner, she ran through the soccer field, the mist of a light rain shower invigorating on her dry skin. It helped settle the dust that was everywhere, and the rumbles of thunder made her think about how they would sit out on the patio and have a few drinks while storms rolled in. She’d give anything to have that happen again with Jake, Sophie, and Dylan. Having them all home would be heaven. It was something she had taken for granted.

  Reaching the parking lot, Alice stopped abruptly, getting a good glance at the two-story building. Windows were completely shattered, one wing off to the left was scorched from fire, and just like everywhere else she had gone, there was no human presence except for a few people who wouldn’t even look her way. The same unsettling feeling she experienced back at the house nestled in the pit of her stomach. Where in the hell was everyone?

  Going to the front entrance, the main doors were gone, allowing easy access inside. It was abandoned, dark, and eerie. The main office looked like an old building that was left to rot. Out of habit, Alice lifted a phone off of the cradle, getting the same result as she had the many other times she attempted to use the phone. It was dead, the electricity was out, and Dylan wasn’t there.

  Padding down the hallway, she tried to think of where large groups might gather. In times of severe weather, she remembered Dylan saying something about going to the library since it was the center-most room in the school. Maybe that’s where staff had gathered up the students and they were still there, waiting for help to come.

  She ran again, sprinting down the long hallway, following the signs directing her to the library. She had only been in the school a few other times for open house and teacher meetings but her memory led her right where she needed to go. Stopping at the entrance, she pushed the door open and shattered glass fell in her hair. Wiping it free, she was surprised at how dark the place was. With it being the tornado shelter, there were no windows, so she couldn’t tell if anyone was inside.

  “Dylan? Is anyone here?”

  There was a terrible stench that stung her nose. It didn’t smell like a normal library would - not the smell of books, paper, and dust. This was more like something rotting and it made her stomach churn. Something was dripping in a puddle and if she had to sit and hear it all day, it would drive her insane.

  “Hello?” Her voice echoed and with each second that passed where she didn’t get a response, the more defeated she felt.

  Alice’s instincts screamed at her to leave. The rotting smell was similar to what a dead animal or body smelled like. What if she had just walked into a room where there were mass casualties? What if this is was where the teachers had led the students and something had happened to all of them? Without a light to see, she wouldn’t know. Most importantly, what if Dylan was in with that group?

  She had to fight back the what if’s and fear. Assuming the worst was only going to cause her to make bad decisions. Leaving out of the same door she had gone in, she ran down another hallway - with windows, she could see better and headed toward the gym. Running past a locker room, she screamed when a hand reached out and grabbed her.

  “Mrs. Shepherd?”

  Alice recognized the boy - It was Ben, a friend of Dylan’s. “Oh my God, Ben! You scared me!” The familiar face calmed her down. Maybe she would finally get some answers.

  “What are you doing here?”

  “I could ask you the same thing.” Alice noticed the dirt caked on Ben’s face. His clothes were tattered and he looked like he hadn’t slept in days. “Are you the only one here? Where is everyone?”

  “The library. A lot of the school went to the library when it all happened. We were at soccer practice. The gym was as far as we could go.”

  “Who is we? Is Dylan here?”

  “We all just started running, Mrs. Shepherd. Cars started crashing. An airplane hit the south wing. I heard that everyone in the library died. The explosion from the crash got them all.”

  Alice’s stomach sank. Seeing the tears well up in Ben’s eyes tore at her, especially since he hadn’t answered her question about Dylan. Wouldn’t he have come out by now if he had heard her voice?

  “Where’s your family, Ben?”

  “I don’t know. My phone isn’t working. I’ve been too scared to move.”

  “You’ve been here this whole time? You must be starving and thirsty.”

  Ben pointed to an orange Gatorade cooler behind him. “It’s full of water. I’ve been living off of that. The rest of the team left. They were gonna chance it and leave. I knew this is where my parents would come and look once everything was clear. But they still haven’t come. I’ve been waiting and then I heard you.”

  “Was Dylan one of the ones who left?” Alice already knew the answer to the question but had to ask it anyway.

  “I’m not sure, Mrs. Shepherd. We all took off running here. I never saw Dylan. I don’t know if he even made it to the gym.”

  “Oh my God…” Alice whispered, wiping the tear that fell down her cheek. “Here, you probably need something to eat.” She handed him a package of crackers she had grabbed from the gas station near the hospital. “Come with me. I’m trying to find Dylan.”

  “What if my family…”

  “I’m not leaving you here, Ben. It’s just me, my brother and his wife. There’s strength in numbers and you can’t stay here alone.”

  “What about the cooler?” Ben pointed over his shoulder again. “It still has a lot of water in it.”

  “It’ll be too heavy to carry but I’d hate to leave it behind.”

  “We have a cart that the trainers carry their supplies on. If we can lift it on that, we can push it.”

  “Ben, you’re a genius!” Alice let out a laugh despite the grave situation. Having that much water would help their hydration and allow her to be out longer to search for Dylan. “Like I said - strength in numbers. We’ll find your family. I’ll make sure we look for them too.”

  ***

  Jake slowed his horse as they closed in on the ranch where he found the horses. His gaze immediately went to the barn where he found the old man. The thought of ending his own life made the hair on the back of his neck raise. It would take extreme desperation to want to resort to such a drastic, permanent solution to problems that were temporary - or were they? The way things had transpired over the past week, the current situation was starting to evolve into the new way they would have to live. No cars or trucks, electronics, or the usual things that spoiled them.

  Jake nudged the side of the horse and trotted down the driveway. The weather was cool, the breeze cool and crisp, exposing them to fresh mountain air that he took in, breathing it deep into his chest. Becky caught up to him, the clop of the hooves on her horse moving rhythmically with his. Glancing over her shoulder, she smiled at Colin who was lying back, enjoying the ride.

  “I think Colin got off easy,” Becky said, a hint of playfulness in her tone.

  “Yeah? He’s lined up just right that when my horse takes a shit it could very well land on him.” Jake laughed but knew it wouldn�
�t happen. The way the travois was hooked up in a V shape meant the horse’s waste would miss the passengers riding along behind them.

  “Hey!” Colin through his hand up and shook his head. “I’d much rather be up on the horse, thank you very much!”

  “Where’d you learn to handle a horse so well?” Becky gripped the reins and looked to her side.

  “I grew up on a farm. I was riding horses from day one. It’s been a while since I’ve actually been on one but it’s like riding a bike. You don’t forget how to handle them.”

  Becky nodded. “A real life cowboy decided to leave home and become a pilot, huh?”

  Jake shook his head, his eyesight training right back to the barn. He didn’t want to go back inside but there was probably supplies they could use. Seeing the dead man again wasn’t something he wanted to go through again. He had killed a man, encountered the numerous casualties on the airplane, but for some reason, this was bugging him even more than everything else. The despair was likely what was bugging him the most. The man chose to end his life. A man who was established with a ranch and a way of life. Jake wanted more explanation that he wouldn’t get.

  “Joining the military tends to get you away. I never thought I wanted to be a pilot. And someone out there thought I’d be great at flying jets. It just sort of fell in my lap.”

  Becky smiled again. “I can relate to that. I never wanted to be a flight attendant either. It’s funny how life doesn’t turn out quite how you imagined it when you were a kid. What did young Jake want to be? What was your dream job when you were a little boy?”

  “The usual. A cop or firefighter.” The small talk was nice but they were close enough now to the house and barn that Jake needed to focus. Looking over his shoulder again, he allowed the others to catch up. “Be careful going inside. I’m not sure if the place is completely abandoned. Grab the obvious stuff - food, clothing, guns and anything that can be used as a weapon. Move fast - I feel like we are being watched everywhere we go.”