Days of Want Series (Book 3): Turmoil

by Payne, T. L.

  “Unprotected against EMP, hundreds of EHV transformers are destroyed and millions of SCADA systems and other critical electronics, leaving damage too broad and too deep to repair, requiring years, if the U.S. could survive for years.

  But there is no coming back.

  Everything is in blackout and nothing works. The EMP sparks widespread fires, explosions, all kinds of industrial accidents. Firestorms rage in cities and forests. Toxic clouds pollute the air and chemical spills poison already polluted lakes and rivers. In seven days, the over 100 nuclear power reactors run out of emergency power and go Fukushima, spreading radioactive plumes over the most populous half of the United States. There is not even any drinking water and the national food supply in regional warehouses begins to spoil in three days. There was only enough food to feed 320 million people for 30 days anyway.

  In one year, as some EMP experts have warned for over a decade, 9 of 10 Americans are dead from starvation, disease, and societal collapse. The United States of America ceases to exist.” (Dr. Peter Vincent Pry, Nuclear EMP Attack Scenarios and Combined-Arms Cyber Warfare, July 2017.)

  Prologue

  For nearly eighteen hours following the coordinated EMP and cyberattacks that took out the nation’s power grid, the guards of Missouri’s South Central Correctional Center in Licking, Missouri, fought to regain control of the prison. Inmates had quickly seized control in the medium security units after the power generators, which were supposed to keep the prison doors locked in a power outage, failed.

  Corrections officers were forced to enter the cell blocks and physically place prisoners into their cells, then manually lock the doors. To do so took all available officers, leaving areas of the prison unguarded.

  “Jenkins! Jenkins! Pull your head out of your ass and open that damn door,” Corrections Officer, Todd Simmons, yelled.

  After Jenkins still hadn’t moved, Todd pushed the man aside and pulled open the door. The twelve-man team dressed in riot gear and gas masks rushed in. The tear gas had incapacitated the majority of the inmates and the team set to work subduing and placing each man into the closest cell. At that point, they were not concerned with cell assignments.

  By the time Todd’s team reached their final pod, two guards had been killed and they were down to ten men. Basically, nine, because Jenkins froze up after the first officer was killed. He mostly just stood by the door staring at the chaos. By morning, eight corrections officers across the prison had been killed, and numerous more were severely injured in the riots.

  After securing the units, the headcount revealed that over half the population of the medium security unit was missing. Some were later found dead, likely by the hands of fellow inmates taking advantage of the chaos. Others were killed as the guards tried to regain control.

  “Jenkins and Sansbury—you two are assigned to Unit 800,” Todd said, shoving an M4 rifle into each man’s hands. “You better stay on your toes over there. We cannot let any of those mother fuckers out. You know who is over there, don’t you?”

  Jenkins nodded and said, “The serial killer, Thorton Wade.”

  “Yeah. He is a savage bastard. There are a lot of other very dangerous assholes in that unit, as well. You got kids, Jenkins?”

  “Yes,” Jenkins said, his eyes widening.

  “Then you don’t want pedophiles and child killers like Thomas Dobbs and Jason Jones wandering the back roads near your house, do you?”

  Jenkins straighten his back.

  “I thought the generators were working over in maximum,” Jenkins said.

  “They are, at the moment. But we aren’t taking any chances in case they stop working. You got it? No maximum security inmates are leaving this prison. Do not let that happen, Jenkins.”

  “Let’s go, you pussies,” Unit 800’s team leader yelled.

  Jenkins and Sansbury fell in behind their new team and disappeared through the side door.

  “How long do you think we have?” Corrections Officer, Nick Hammond, asked, walking up beside Todd.

  “About a week, maybe two, if someone hasn’t stolen all the diesel yet.”

  “What are we gonna do about units one through six?”

  Todd turned and headed to his office.

  “Nothing.”

  “What? We can’t keep them all locked in their cells. They have to eat and shower and have yard time,” Nick called after him.

  “Those days are over,” Todd said, shutting the door to his office.

  It was useless to try to explain that the lights were not coming back on any time soon—if ever. Nick wasn’t ready to hear that news. Todd would let it sink in naturally, the way most everyone else would get it.

  By day two, the warden was AWOL and so was most all the admin staff. No one was sure who was in charge of the prison at that point. A few dedicated guards kept coming to work to ensure that the doors stayed shut. Todd returned home the third day after the lights went out to see about his family. Unlike most in the area, Todd’s family had been prepared and were doing pretty well.

  Thanks to his best friend, Ron Hillman, Todd had stocked up on enough food, water, and all the supplies to last at least two years. They had a large garden, livestock, and a freezer full of meat kept frozen by a natural gas generator. That might not last forever. Eventually, someone may shut off the valve, but it still worked at the moment, so they were set.

  By day five, the prison was down to a skeleton crew. Those who went home never returned. Todd went to work each day, not out of his sense of duty or for the now non-existent paycheck, but as security for his family and all the other families in the community.

  Conditions at the prison had quickly deteriorated in the units where the generators had failed. As Todd expected, the warden released all the minimum security prisoners. The ones on work duties in town never returned to the prison because there was no functioning transportation—and no one available to drive since everyone had been detailed to round up prisoners and put them back into cells. The Texas County Sheriff had been informed, but there wasn’t much he could do without transportation or radios. Besides, what was he going to do with them?

  On day six, the military from nearby Fort Leonard Wood arrived with trucks filled with MRE cartons, water, and best of all, soldiers to help guard the remaining inmates. The sanitary conditions were relieved by the use of porta johns, also provided by a military contractor and more from FEMA. A Red Cross doctor had been sent down to set up an infirmary as the staff physician never returned.

  The sheriff had been busy fighting both town residents and prisoners pillaging the town of Licking. He’d set up roadblocks and had begun house-to-house searches, but with only a few deputies reporting for duty, he hadn’t made much headway.

  The released or escaped prisoners who had been caught were taken to the Texas County jail in Houston, Missouri. The locals in Houston protested feeding inmates food that their children needed to survive, so the judge assigned them all to a work detail.

  In exchange for their labor, the convicts were being fed by local businesses in Licking that were still operating and farmers who needed help.

  Todd heard that armed locals were guarding the prisoners while they worked. Only two of the fifty or so inmates had walked away from their new assignment. It reminded him of the old chain-gangs in the south in the 1930s and 40s.

  The county commissioners and the circuit judge had delayed deciding on the fate of the inmates of the Licking South Central Correctional Center. As long as the generators were running and with the military providing supplies and guards, they didn’t seem to be in any hurry to come up with a more permanent solution.

  A county-wide meeting to discuss the fate
of the prisoners had been scheduled. However, the safety issues with the raiding of homes and farms kept the county commissioners at home, which significantly delayed the discussion that needed to take place for decisions to be made.

  Soon, though, the diesel would run out and the generators would fail. Some very tough decisions would have to be made very soon. Todd hoped that they made the right ones--for all their sakes.

  Chapter 1

  Langston Cabin

  Evening Shade, Missouri

  Event + 12 days

  For the first time since the lights went out and the world went to shit, Maddie felt they stood a chance at survival, at least for the near future. Her father, Greg Langston, had seen to that. His forethought and planning would mean the difference between having a real chance at survival or a short, miserable death by starvation. It would be a stressful winter on strict rations without electric heat and fully stocked grocery stores, though.

  After her brother, Zack, and Lugnut had brought in one of her father’s buried food caches, Maddie inventoried the items, then organized them on the pantry shelves. The other caches would remain hidden to prevent marauders from being able to take all their food stores in the event they were overrun.

  Zach and Lugnut had unearthed the twenty-four barrel caches, made sure that the contents were still dry, then reburied them, concealing them with leaves and branches. One barrel contained enough food to feed ten people for one month. There were currently only seven people at the cabin. Maddie wasn’t sure how many her mom would bring with her when she arrived home.

  Her dad had planned to feed twenty people for one year with some of them bringing their own supplies. The food in those barrels would feed the current group for two years. That was hopefully enough time to get a garden established and trade for livestock.

  With two men down recovering from gunshot wounds, and Jason and Harmony still not trained to shoot, guard duty fell to Maddie, Zack, and Lugnut. Ideally, they would have had three people on duty at all times. There were a lot of acres to cover, and three people providing security around the clock would have been stretching it as it was, without anyone out of commission with injuries. They had to sleep and do other things, as well, so one guard at a time was all they could manage. Rank had said that he could still patrol the perimeter, but due to swelling in his injured arm, Jason had insisted that he stay still and keep it elevated.

  As a dentist, Jason had general medical training and had worked in emergency rooms in medical school. His knowledge, along with Ron Hillman’s Army medic training, were true assets to the group, especially with the two bullet magnets currently loitering in the cabin’s living room.

  Ryan’s leg was severely swollen, and he was weak from blood loss, but Ron and Jason thought he would recover and regain the use of his leg. But that might take months. And with Rank’s shoulder wound, the group was short on non-disabled workers. In weeks, the weather would be changing, and the chore of keeping the cabin warm would become someone’s full-time job.

  The firewood Maddie’s father had stacked under the carport would get them through an ordinary south-central Missouri winter, but Maddie didn’t know how much they’d use cooking and heating water. She’d never spent the whole winter at the cabin. She hadn’t been involved in the discussions between her parents about how much firewood was required in the apocalypse.

  “I found a whole pallet of canned peaches and fruit cocktail in the back of the barn,” Zach blurted as he ran through the back door.

  “Really?” Maddie said as her eyes lit up.

  “Yeah. It looks like dad had received a delivery but hadn’t had time to bury it.”

  “Oh my gosh! I am so making peach cobbler tonight,” Maddie said as she pulled ingredients from the pantry shelves.

  “Peach cobbler? That’s my favorite. Can I help? I took a cooking class at my high school. I love to cook,” Harmony called as she pushed Zach aside.

  “You can cook?” Maddie asked, her eyebrows raised.

  “A little,” Harmony said timidly.

  Harmony had been all alone in her McMansion in Wentzville, Missouri, when they’d found her. Or rather when her dog, Buster, had found Maddie. After narrowly escaping being eaten alive by the giant beast, Maddie had been saddened to learn that Harmony’s parents had left her home alone while they took a cruise on their private yacht in the Bahamas. Maddie could not imagine how the fifteen-year-old girl would survive the apocalypse on her own, so she and the group had invited her and Buster to join them. Something Zach had not protested at all.

  Buster romped around Harmony as she excitedly waved her arms in the air describing the culinary dishes that she could make. Although she was a sweet girl, Harmony was a talker. She went into in-depth detail on every subject in which she spoke. Maddie’s college roommate had been the same way. Way back then, a whole week-and-a-half ago, she would just put in her earbuds, select her favorite music, and turn up the volume on her phone.

  Maddie smiled warmly at Harmony, but she deeply missed those earbuds.

  “Great. You are the new camp chef. Here is the inventory of food items the guys just brought in. I’ve organized it and put the oldest items in the front. If you need help making a menu, let me know. That was next on my to-do list,” Maddie said, handing Harmony the clipboard. “I’ll be in the barn seeing what else is hiding in there.”

  As Maddie followed Zach to the door, she heard Rank calling from the living room.

  “I could go for some lemonade if there is any left.”

  Harmony’s face lit up, and a broad smile crossed her face.

  Maddie turned to Zach. He lowered his head and pushed open the door. As she followed him through, she said, “Little brother, if you like that girl, you better stake your claim. The list of eligible girls is pretty short these days and will probably only get shorter as time goes by.”

  “Who said I liked her?”

  Lugnut emerged from the barn as Zach stomped off around the cabin.

  “What’s up with him? Did you shit in his Wheaties again?”

  “No. He is jealous because Harmony has a crush on Rank.”

  “Hell, he better get over it. Every girl has a crush on Rank at first. Until they get to know him and discover he is one of those catch-and-release kinds of guys.”

  “What?” Maddie asked.

  “Rank has never been on a second date, at least that I know of,” Lugnut said as he pulled the tab on a can of fruit cocktail. He used his fingers to pick the cherries out and popped one in his mouth.

  “Oh yeah, and how many second dates have you been on?” Maddie asked as she strode by and flicked his long beard. “You might want to get a spoon or something. You are making quite the mess in that rat’s nest of yours.”

  “I’ve been on a second date. I’ve been on several second dates. I just never found anyone to bring home to Momma.”

  Maddie chuckled.

  “Maybe you should have looked somewhere besides the strip clubs.”

  “Where is the fun in that?” Lugnut said, upturning the can and pouring its contents into his mouth. Syrup streamed from the sides of the can and dripped down his beard.

  “You are gross.”

  “Okay, I’ll get a spoon next time. Sheesh.”

  Maddie shook her head. Her old man had been the only member of this close group of friends to settle down. He and her mom, Beth, had married right out of high school, right before her dad had gone off to boot camp. When Maddie had asked Rank why he never married, he told her that if the Marine Corps had wanted him to have a wife, they would have issued him one.

  “So, what is on the agenda for today, boss,” Lugnut called after her.

  “I think we should dig up the solar power system and see if we can figure out how to put it up. I don’t want to wait for Ryan. Jason says that he could be down for quite a while. I think with his instructions, we could manage to get at least some of it up,” Maddie said.

  “Sounds like a plan. You know Ron knows all
about these solar setups.”

  “Hum,” Maddie said. “Maybe one of us should go over and ask him about it.”

  A wide grin crossed her face. She’d been itching to go to Ron’s ever since they’d arrived. She could see her old dog, Mugsbie, and pet the baby goats. Ron had said he just got some baby chicks and ducklings too. The kid in her took over as she ran off toward his farm. The rifle slung over her back bounced hard against her hip with each step, and she was forced to slow down to a brisk walk.

  “Bring me back some deer jerky. Rank ate all mine,” Lugnut yelled.

  Maddie raised her arm and gave him a thumbs up without looking back.

  The way these guys eat, I think dad underestimated how much food we’d need. Zach better get a deer or three this year or we’ll be hurting by the end of winter.

  Even though it had been a few years since Maddie had made the trek through the forest to Ron Hillman’s farm, her feet seemed to know the way. The once well-worn path had quickly become overgrown with brambles. As Maddie pulled the prickly branches from her pant legs, she noted the location. Once she would have only considered their presence a nuisance, but now they would become part of their food source. The Mark Twain National Forest offered several summer berry-picking options.

  As she untangled herself and skirted the rim of a large, rocky sink hole, Maddie recalled the many berry picking adventures she’d taken with her mother. Her parents even used seemingly mundane outings to teach her and Zach how to survive in the wilderness surrounding the cabin. Their property had an abundance of blackberry, gooseberry, raspberry, and even wild strawberries, along with many other berry varieties. She knew where every edible fruit and nut tree on the property was located.

  Remembering where she had last picked one of her favorites, Maddie rushed ahead, pushing through unruly vines to reach the colony of pawpaw trees. The green-yellow banana-shaped fruit was one of the few deer-resistant fruits in the woods, so finding some of the shrub-like trees was not a surprise.