by Ray Gorham
“How are we supposed to survive for a year without power?” Virgie asked. “We won’t be able to do anything, and our food will go bad. And we’re supposed to go through a summer without air conditioning? I don’t think so,” she said, crossing her arms across her chest, her defiance on display. “This is America, not the third world. There’s got to be something that can be done.”
“Virgie!” Kyle said, raising his arms and voice in frustration. “An EMP destroys everything! It’s not like it just trips a big circuit breaker that can be turned back on. Power plants will need to get new computers and new turbines, and most will need to be rewired. And that’s if they haven’t burned down. Transmission lines will need to be replaced, and we’ll have to do all of it with most cars and trucks needing to be fixed first. We don’t keep spare parts for every piece of equipment a power plant needs, just a few critical pieces scattered around the country. We have millions upon millions of miles of power lines that might need to be replaced. Who’s going to do that when no one can get to work and everyone is busy trying to find food? Your fridge, your computers, your vehicles are all dead, and all the wiring in your house likely needs to be replaced. Anything in a grounded metal box might be safe, but the rest is toast. You guys are amazingly lucky to have a vehicle that doesn’t rely on computer chips to operate, but how are you going to get gas once the tank is empty?”
“You don’t make very pleasant dinner conversation, you know,” Ed said, his expression blank and his voice lifeless.
“It’s never been my strong suit. How much food do you have?” Kyle was all business now, his patience having worn out.
“I cooked all the steaks,” Virgie answered. “There are still three left.”
“No, Virgie, not for lunch. I mean in your house. How much food do you have if you can’t buy anything from the store?”
“I’ve got a little bit in the pantry. Why?”
“I’m thinking that we need to find a way to get some food, and as quickly as we can. Think about it. Vehicles are dead, so nothing is going to be delivered. Power is out, and there are a whole lot of people in an area that’s not very big. How’s anyone going to eat?”
“Are you saying we’re going to starve to death?” Ed asked, his voice steady and matter-of-fact, his brown eyes darting back and forth between Kyle and his wife.
Kyle wasn’t sure how to read the look on Ed’s face, but he could see that his own sense of urgency was having an effect. “I’m saying that things are going to get bad in a hurry. People are going to start panicking, if they haven’t already. Anyone that knows anything about an EMP realizes how bad of a situation we’re in, and everyone else will figure it out soon enough.”
“So what do you recommend we do?” Ed asked. “Rob the grocery store?”
Kyle nodded. “I don’t know what else we can do, Ed. What are we going to do in a week or two when we’ve eaten everything in the house? I’d gladly pay, but my wallet burned up in the airplane along with everything else I own. I don’t think anyone will be at the store to take your credit card, but we can take it with us. If people haven’t started looting yet, they will soon enough.”
Ed rolled his eyes and let out a snort. “I bring you to my house, and now you try and get me to rob the supermarket? You’re insane, Mr. Montana cowboy. We don’t do that kind of thing in Texas. Maybe you do in Montana, but not here,” he said, his voice rising as well. “I don’t even know your last name, and you want me to go on a crime spree? You are out of your stinking mind!” Ed emphasized the last sentence.
“I don’t do that either, thank you very much,” Kyle said sharply. “I can’t believe that I’m suggesting such a thing, and under normal circumstances, I can guarantee you I wouldn’t. But these aren’t normal circumstances, Ed. We should have parted company yesterday in Denver and never seen each other again. I just want to survive and figure out a way to get home. If you have some generous neighbor who’ll provide for you, then you’re good. But if not, then we need to figure something out.”
Ed leaned forward, resting his face in his hands and rubbing his forehead. Kyle could hear him breathing heavily, but he wasn’t saying anything.
“Ed,” Virgie said softly as she reached out and rubbed his leg. “I think Kyle’s right. I’m scared. If it’s half as bad as he says, we won’t make it a month. You know we don’t cook much. We’re going to be getting hungry in a few days, maybe a week, then what’ll we do? I want to survive.”
Deer Creek, Montana
Grace patted Jennifer on the knee. “Jennifer, I’m sure things will be alright. We don’t know anything for sure.” The two ladies had been sitting on the Anderson’s couch for twenty minutes, ever since Chuck had answered the door and found his neighbor sobbing on their doorstep.
After finding Jennifer a box of Kleenex, Chuck had sat quietly in a chair on the other side of the room, ready to help if needed. “I’m sorry to be a bother,” Jennifer managed to get out, wiping her eyes and pausing to blow her nose. “I just needed someone to talk to. I don’t want to worry the kids any more than I already have, and I can’t call anyone on the telephone.”
“Jennifer,” Grace reassured, “don’t be silly. We’re glad to be here for you.” She took Jennifer’s hand. “Everything’s going to be fine.”
Jennifer smiled weakly and squeezed Grace’s hand.
“You said that the president had a speech on the radio,” Chuck said. “Can you remember what it was he said?”
Jennifer nodded and pulled a crumpled piece of paper out of her pocket. “It was the vice president. I wrote took some notes.” Jennifer smoothed out her notes and read them to Chuck. “He said that there was a nuclear missile, he called it an EMP, and that they don’t know who did it. He said that power and phones for the country have been destroyed, and then he said that a lot of airplanes had crashed….” she trailed off again as fresh tears streaked down her cheeks.
Grace rubbed Jennifer’s shoulders. “Let’s not talk about it, Jennifer. You can worry about that later,” she said as she shot her husband a dirty look.
Chuck shrugged his shoulders and mouthed “sorry” to his wife. “I’m sorry, Jennifer,” he said. “I didn’t mean to make things worse for you. Do you mind if I look at your notes?”
Jennifer shook her head and handed him the tear-stained paper. “My writing’s messy,” she mumbled.
Chuck took the paper from her and scanned it. …4:08 P.M. EST…all North Amer…nuclear 300 miles up…destroyed elect system…EMP… comm...trans…planes crashed/dozens…30yrs prep…govt/ltd function…military protecting…months/years to fix…don’t panic/obey laws…organize in communities…PRAY…more broadcasts.
Chuck handed the notes back to her. “Do you remember what radio station it was on?”
Jennifer shook her head. “I don’t. It was an AM station. I’ll check for you.” She was forcing herself to breath deeply in an attempt to calm down.
“Did he say that every airplane crashed?” Chuck asked, trying to sound hopeful.
“No, he said dozens that they knew of. Not sure how to take that, but Kyle’s flight had probably been in the air for close to an hour.”
“Well, there are thousands of flights in the air all the time, so odds are he made it. He’s probably worrying about you as we speak, and likely tried to call, but the phones are down,” Chuck said, his tone still upbeat. “He’ll be back before you know it, and until then, you’re welcome to come over here as much as you need to.”
Katy, Texas
Ed wove in and out of cars on the street, seeing his neighborhood with new eyes. It hadn’t changed physically since he’d driven to the airport the day before. The sun shone, leaves fluttered in a light breeze, and kids rode their bikes down the sidewalks or played in their yards. The neighborhood hadn’t changed, but the perspective Ed saw it with had reset 180 degrees. He scanned the faces of the people he saw, worried not only for them, but by them. How would things be in a day? A week? A month? He wondered. Would
those people survive? Would he? When people got desperate, how would they act? Was he looking at someone who would help him, or someone who would hurt him?
“Kind of creeps me out a little bit,” Ed stated, almost in a whisper. “Notice how everybody stares at us as we drive by?”
“Yeah, I was thinking the same thing,” said Kyle. “Probably wondering why your car’s working and no one else can go anywhere.”
“I was wondering that too. Why do you think that is?”
“I’m pretty sure it’s because of how old your Jeep is, and partly due to the fact it was parked on the bottom level of the garage at the airport and had several layers of concrete above it. You said it’s what, a ’78?”
Ed nodded.
“It wasn’t until the mid eighties that everything in cars went computerized. Now, everything is run by computer chips, and they are extremely sensitive to any kind of power surge. That’s why, when you handle computer boards, you’re supposed to wear rubber gloves or ground yourself, because even a simple static electric spark can ruin them. Your Jeep is all mechanical, no computer chips to cook.”
“Guess it’s a good thing I bought this. When I was a kid I always wanted a Jeep. Finally picked this one up about five years ago and have been working on it ever since. I was close to being done, but it doesn’t look like I’ll get there now.”
Ed swung the Jeep into his driveway and pulled forward into the garage. Kyle jumped out and lowered the garage door as Virgie appeared in the doorway.
“Did you have any problems?” she asked Ed as he climbed out of the Jeep.
“No,” he replied, shaking his head. “It was the perfect crime. We killed all the witnesses.”
Kyle laughed uneasily, knowing how hesitant Ed had been about the whole affair. “It went okay, Virgie. Others were already there, but the store was still pretty full. We squeezed as much as we could into the Jeep, and Ed watched for police the whole way home. He was sure that even though the Jeep was about the only thing on the road, the police were going to pull up behind him and haul him off to jail. I don’t think you need to worry about him turning to a life of crime.”
Virgie didn’t laugh at either of their attempts at humor.
CHAPTER 9
Sunday, September 4th
Deer Creek, Montana
An unexpected knock at the door startled Jennifer. After an endless night with little rest, she’d awakened only a short while before. What little sleep she had managed to get had been filled with dreams of Kyle: dreams where his airplane fell out of the sky, dreams where he walked through the door as if nothing was wrong, dreams where he stood alone on the edge of a deserted highway. Whatever the dream, they all resulted in tears.
Jennifer cinched her robe and opened the front door, allowing the muted, gray sunlight to illuminate the entryway. The weather had turned stormy during the night, and the ground was covered with puddles from rain that had been falling for most of the morning. She swung the door open and found a man in a sheriff’s uniform standing in front of her. He appeared to be in his early thirties, with a similar build to Kyle’s, but was maybe a couple of inches taller. His hair was short and dark, and he had brown eyes that were open wide and bored intently into hers. He smiled pleasantly as Jennifer greeted him.
“Can I help you?” Jennifer asked, pushing a loose strand of hair behind her ear. The fact that the man was wearing a uniform, along with the recollection that law enforcement had the duty to inform people when a family member died in an accident, made her heart skip two beats before assuming an accelerated rhythm with an intensity she’d never before experienced. She glanced around to see if a minister had accompanied him.
“Hi, sorry to bother you,” the officer began, an authoritative expression seemingly chiseled on his face. “My name is Doug Jarvis, Officer Doug Jarvis actually, and I’m here because of the situation that’s occurred. Are you familiar with it?”
“That depends on if there is more than one situation,” Jennifer replied, barely able to choke out the words, sure that he was preparing to tell her that Kyle was dead.
“The terrorist attack,” Officer Jarvis said with an earnest look. “Have you heard the vice president’s message?”
“Yes. I heard it yesterday.” Jennifer swallowed hard, her throat aching, tears percolating just below the surface. “What, in regards to the situation, are you here about?”
“Well,” said Officer Jarvis, “the vice president said that we need to work as communities to get through this. I thought it would be a good idea to get as many people together as we can, to come up with some ideas. I know it’s quick, but I thought the sooner the better, before things get desperate.”
Jennifer smiled weakly and let out a huge sigh of relief while gripping the door with both hands to steady herself. “Sounds like a good idea, officer. What are you thinking?”
Officer Jarvis seemed very enthusiastic. “Please, just call me Doug. I wore the uniform because I thought it might help people take me a little more seriously. You know, in case they hadn’t heard about the situation.”
Jennifer nodded. “Sounds like a good idea, Doug. What are your plans?”
“I thought we could meet this afternoon at 2:00, while there’s still plenty of light. We’ll meet at my house, just a few streets over.” He gave Jennifer directions and a description of his house, then thanked her and headed in the direction of the Anderson’s just as the light rain started up again.
Katy, Texas
Kyle and Ed worked in the garage packing the Jeep for their trip. The “looted food,” as Ed described it, along with items Virgie had gathered from the house, was carefully boxed and loaded into the Jeep. The driver’s seat was clear of any supplies, but every other inch of space that wasn’t needed for Kyle and Virgie was packed tight with food and other essentials. Kyle was tying a gas can to the front bumper while Ed worked on stacking boxes in the backseat.
“Are you sure that’s what you want to do?” Ed asked. “It seems like you’re putting your life at risk.”
Kyle’s hand slipped from the rope he was tugging on and banged hard against the grill of the Jeep. “I’m positive,” he said, shaking his hand to ease the pain. “You’re the one who needs to decide if you want to do this for me. Besides, everyone’s life is at risk right now, not just mine.”
After returning from their run to Wal-Mart the day before, Kyle, Ed, and Virgie had spent the rest of the day discussing how they were going to survive. It had been a long, emotionally exhausting conversation, but before going to bed, they had decided on a plan and were now in the midst of carrying it out. Virgie and Ed’s son had a large home on a couple of acres near San Angelo, an area that Ed thought would be safer than Katy. Kyle would ride with them to San Angelo, then start out for Montana from there.
After a night of packing, Kyle had spent the morning siphoning gasoline from cars that were stalled in the streets. He’d run into a couple of threatening neighbors, but the only real problems had involved spilled and swallowed gasoline. Kyle smelled of gasoline, his mouth tasted like a carburetor, and his head ached from inhaling the fumes, but he ignored it all, glad to finally be doing something that would get him closer to home.
“So, have you refined your plan any more?” Ed asked as he adjusted his seat to make more room behind it for another box of food. “Last night you were pretty vague.”
Kyle shrugged. “Well, the goal’s still the same.. I’m just trying to figure out the best way to accomplish it. The drive today will tell me a lot.”
“You could wait things out in Texas, you know, till things get working again,” Ed said as he jammed the last case of soup into the backseat. “The weather’s warmer. It would be easier to survive.”
“We talked about that last night,” Kyle said, tying the last rope on the gas can. “Nothing’s changed. I have a wife and three kids in Montana who probably think I’m dead and are looking at going through a winter without electricity or heat. What kind of man would I be if I wa
ited it out safe and warm in Texas while they struggled up there.” He thought a minute. “If I didn’t make an attempt to get back, I don’t know that I could face them when this is over.”
Ed smiled knowingly and looked at Kyle. “I understand that, but what you’re talking about is dangerous. It’s more than fifteen hundred miles, and you don’t know how you’re going to do it. What good would it do them for you to die on the road?”
“What good would it do me to go home next summer and find my family dead?” Kyle replied coldly. “The pioneers did it. They walked to Oregon and to California without roads or real maps. The worst case is I walk if I can’t come up with anything better.”
Kyle handed Ed another case of food, and Ed worked it in behind his seat. “I’m not trying to talk you out of it. I would just hate to see you die.”
“Is your Jeep going to be able to handle the weight?” asked Kyle, changing the subject. “It’s already riding pretty low, and there are still three people to get in.”
“We’ll be fine,” Ed said, glancing at the suspension. “Besides, I can go as slow as I need to. I don’t think I’ll be holding any traffic up. They made these old things pretty sturdy, not like the plastic cars we’re used to today.”
The men finished loading the last few boxes and went back inside the house where Virgie was busy closing and securing windows.
“Did you talk to Maria or Carlos?” Ed asked.
Virgie nodded. “I just got home a few minutes ago. I gave them a key and they agreed to keep an eye on the house. I told them they could have the food we don’t take.”
“Did they say what they’re planning on doing?”
“No, and they’re pretty scared. They don’t have a car that works, and Maria said they don’t have much food. She didn’t say anything about family, so I don’t know that they can go to anyone for help. I’m worried about them.”
“Did you tell them to get to a grocery store?” asked Ed. “There was a lot of stuff there yesterday. Not sure how much might be left, but it would be something.”