EMP Escape: EMP Journey Book 2

by Miles Maresh

  Although the fence was high and topped with razor wire, it was not impenetrable. Anyone scaling the fence would still have to make it through the minefield that David had installed. David had served in Afghanistan and Iraq and was well aware of the destruction IEDs could do to human bones and flesh. He hoped no one would ignore the warning signs because he did not want to maim intruders. However the alternative was to let his family lose their supplies and probably their lives. The farm was too large to watch the fence at all positions and the back of the compound was next to a national forest which did not belong to David. It was thickly grown enough to discourage invaders from coming in that way, but it was still a concern he had. With more adults now at the compound, a 24 hour watch was established in both the front and back guard towers. Others would walk the perimeter and report on fences that needed attention, as well as any suspicious people outside the fence. With the attention the landing plane had attracted, a number of onlookers has started down the driveway to the farm. Clem, David and Jim walked down towards the main road. They turned around several people who pleaded for help. They directed then to the no trespassing signs and insisted they move on. With winter approaching, the farm would not be producing crops anytime soon, and the provisions David had set aside would have to be shared with his extended family and friends for months. Compassion aside, David knew his own family would struggle to survive. He was not going to make that more difficult, by giving up supplies to people he did not know.

  Chapter 14

  Clint, Barry and Megan headed east through Indiana. The found the interstate to be mostly clear and the occasional logjams could be cleared by using the winch on Clint’s Blazer. When they approached Indianapolis, they switched to back roads to skirt around the city. With most people only keeping days of food on hand, many were going hungry by now. Because municipal water supplies were also dependent on electric pumps, the tap water was also out in many big cities. While many cities including Indianapolis were built alongside rivers, drinking river water without boiling it would spread disease and death even faster than starvation would kill people. Clint had a good supply of water in his Blazer and all three travelers had purifying tablets and filters in their backpacks. The average person did not know these supplies even existed, and many people would die from drinking tainted river water. With a large supply of MREs and energy bars in the vehicle they needed to avoid heavily populated areas to keep their provisions for the journey they had yet to complete. Clint’s Blazer was an obvious target. Because Clint and his passengers were heavily armed, no small groups would be able to successfully take the vehicle away. Of course there were larger gatherings of survivors out there and Barry related to Clint what had happened with the biker gang in Utah. Clint agreed that if the situation warranted they would retreat from the vehicle but they would always keep their weapons ready as the first option.

  On Highway 86, South of Indianapolis. Clint’s Blazer picked up a flat tire. Before he slowed down, two more tires also blew out. Within a minute three of the four tires were flat. Clint had apparently driven over a series of nails or a concealed spike strip in the road. Because nails would be less likely to cause such damage, Clint knew this had to be a deliberate action against his Blazer As the trio emerged from the truck to check the damage, gunshots rang out from the front of the vehicle. The three retreated behind the Blazer, and Clint reached into the open back window to get his gun bag. As a hunter and a Texan, Clint had multiple rifles including automatic weapons. He passed an AK 47 to Barry and kept one for himself, He had handguns and shotguns as well, but in a situation like this with unknown opponents a distance away, rifles were a better choice. Megan had already become familiar with rifles Barry had acquired and he thought it best that she used something she was used to even though it was not fully automatic. By checking the tires from under the truck, it was obvious that a spike strip had been intentionally used to disable the vehicle. Barry looked back down the road and he could see the mangled strip still in place, It was just the luck of the draw that one tire had not been destroyed. Even at that, finding three matching tires was going to be difficult. Of course more troubling were the people that had apparently used the flats to disable the vehicle in order to attack them. He did not knew if they wanted his Blazer, his supplies, or both but Clint also feared that heavy gunfire could damage the vehicle much more severely than flat tires. The gunshots from the front died out when the three got behind the Blazer and returned fire. Clint figured that the attackers wanted his vehicle and they were unwilling to take gunshots that could disable it. Clint and Barry saw multiple gunmen move from cover to cover as they got closer to the front of the Blazer. Two gunmen were also moving down the sides of the road and Barry realized they were trying to flank him like the bikers had done in Utah. This time, they had no plane above to help, and Barry signaled Megan and Clint that they needed to retreat to a better position.

  Clint did not know how many gunmen were in the attackers’ group, but he was sure they were outnumbered as the attackers worked to surround his group. He conferred with Barry and Megan, and they agreed to move behind a group of trees just off the road. Barry and Megan ran back toward the trees as Clint covered them with automatic weapon fire. They then reversed the roles as Barry covered Clint’s retreat. From their new position they had an excellent view of the front and back of the vehicle, and had firing lines if any of the attackers approached the Blazer. They had taken their go-bags and Clint had lugged his heavy gun bag packed with ammunition. They had left MRE’s, water, and some extra unloaded weapons in the Blazer, but no ammunition. The attackers apparently believed the group had given up and they cautiously approached the Blazer. When they looked inside and saw the food, they greedily started devouring MRE’s and granola bars. There were 5 men who paid little attention, as they argued among themselves on who got what of their pilfered food supply. Barry and Clint reloaded their automatic weapons, as did Megan with her rifle. A barrage of gunfire directed at the men would have probably punctured the gas tank and maybe disabled the engine as the men continue to crowd around the back of the Blazer. Instead Barry and Clint use short bursts of fire aimed directly at the chests of the men. Four of the men dropped, although they were still moving. One was apparently uninjured and crawled away trying to hold onto his weapon. Clint released a volley of shots aimed at the weapon and it flew out of the attacker’s hands along with some of his fingers. Clint’s group disarmed the attackers and decided what to do with the survivors. Two had succumbed to their injuries, while the others had painful, if not life threatening wounds. Of course, without access to medical care that all could change. Megan wanted to let them go, but Clint insisted that they had to be eliminated. They had pulled guns on the three of them, and had no reservations on attempting to kill others for their supplies. If they were not taken care of now they would have no qualms of attacking them or others again. Clint said he would do it if the others had no stomach. Barry said he would participate. Megan relented but she said she wanted to participate fully. Each of the three took out one remaining attacker although it took Megan a little time to fire her shot.

  After disposing of the attackers, Clint tried to start the Blazer figuring he would make sure it still ran before he would worry about finding tires that would fit. As he had feared the damage during the gun battle had disabled the vehicle even worse than the EMP had done to most modern vehicles. The radiator had several bullet holes which could have been replaced with some difficulty. However other engine components were also shattered by gunfire, and even if they could find the right parts the damage was just too extensive to be fixed on a road next to decomposing bodies. If they could get the Blazer to a shop, he was sure it could be fixed but Clint realized that with no tow trucks, around, and all auto shops out of power, he would be leaving his truck where it sat in the Indiana countryside.

  Because they were still 500 miles away from the farm, the three travelers decided to go into Indianapolis. They would be walking for now
and did not want to do that all the way to the farm. They hoped to replace the Blazer with another EMP free vehicle. It seemed unlikely that they would find one. Most people who had a working car had probably fled the city but there were still possibilities that they wanted to check. Clint did agree that many more motorcycles would still work when Barry told him about the biker gangs in Utah. Clint even said if motorcycles were not working he could fix them if the EMP strike was not the problem. As a good mechanic Clint said he could also repair older vehicles that were disabled by age but were still resistant to EMP effects. Barring motorized devices the group also wanted to see if acquiring bicycles was possible, riding bicycles would be preferable to walking hundreds of miles to upstate Pennsylvania.

  Chapter 15

  Justin and Frank and their families had managed to avoid towns and large groups of survivors as they rode bicycles across rural New York. They crossed the Pennsylvania border and rode through Amish farm country. Although the Amish lived off the grid, and should have been self-sufficient they had also been indirectly affected by the EMP. As cities ran out of food, some residents wanted to move into settled farming communities. The Amish farms were well known for producing their own food, but they were not looking for converts and could not afford to aid hordes of city people. As the brothers and their families rode by on bikes, they saw bearded men with rifles trained at them until they rode out of sight. They did not need provisions from the Amish and just wanted to get through the area.

  As they headed south to go around the Allegheny Mountains they encountered more people from the cities. They had tried to avoid larger groups since the conflict where Justin had been injured, but with so many refugees streaming into the rural national park they found themselves surrounded. As they had supplies on their backs, they were attracting attention from hungry people. Men grabbed the handlebars as they rode by and yanked the bikes to the ground, ripping off their backpacks. They lost their bikes, their supplies, and one of their sat phones. Justin had thrown his a short distance away in the woods as the crowd closed in around them. Frank, Justin Mariah and the teens retreated as the men dived for the MREs they found in the go bags. A couple of men fired shots into the air to claim most of the supplies for themselves. The family all had handguns in holsters, but with some of the attackers also armed it made more sense to retreat while their supplies and bikes were still being fought over. Frank had his sat phone stripped from his hands as he attempted to call David. No one had noticed what Justin had thrown into the woods, and he retrieved his sat phone from where it had landed.

  They were now only a short distance away from the farm and Frank used the remaining phone to call David and let him know they would be walking in within a day. Justin had been hoping he would drive out to get them, his injured arm was bothering him and he was afraid it was infected, but David said the roads were crowded with walkers fleeing Pittsburgh and other southern cities. He was sure taking a vehicle out now would result in losing it. He told the group to call in when they reached the driveway. He said he would send gunmen from the farm to turn around any refugees that tried to follow his family in through the gate.

  Because they had lost their supplies, the group was forced to drink from mountain streams without purifying the water first. This worried the brothers because David had told them parasites lived in even apparently clear water. When they camped for the night they started a fire for warmth, to boil water, and to cook a squirrel that Frank managed to shoot. They spent a sleepless nights in the woods with no sleeping bags and little food. However in the morning they were in good spirits because they knew they would reach the farm that day. The next day Frank saw what David had meant when the group reached the main road that they needed to travel to reach the compound. Dozens of refugees, mostly looking emaciated were wandering down the road. None had any supplies, and many were too exhausted and out of energy to continue, and were dropping to the ground unable to even move any further. Mariah felt guilty seeing all the people in the road. She knew most would soon die of starvation, thirst, disease or exposure. She had married into the family that had supplies, but she was unsure if they would accept her. They barely knew her, and her husband Justin was the black sheep of his family. She was afraid the family would think she was no different from the wandering masses on the road and would not accept her. She felt she had little to offer except relative youth and heath. Her profession as a stockbroker was a thing of the past that would not aid in survival. She could contribute to manual labor as could Justin, although it was not something that had been part of their lives in New York City.

  Mariah had little to worry about. Although David was not willing to take in outsiders that had not aided the family. He was not going to leave any of his family members out in the cold. Frank had already told him in confidence that Mariah had save Justin’s life with her quick, decisive actions. Some of the family had thought Justin was wasting his time trying to be an actor, but David was actually proud of him. Living life on your own terms was something he could support and he felt that the mindset would help Justin in surviving this situation. He also felt Mariah was a great influence on her husband. She was thoughtful and intelligent. He knew she was more receptive to his prepper ideas, and she had not been slow to realize what was going on when the EMP hit. She had gotten Justin out of New York City fast. Without her influence he might still be there trying to wait things out.

  When the travelers came inside the gate. David assigned one of the two remaining trailers to Frank and his teenage children. Justin and Mariah were told they could share the last one with Barry and Megan who were still on the way. David didn’t know if his son was sleeping with his girlfriend, but they had traveled across the country together and Jim informed him that she would be an asset to their group as he had aided Barry in escaping some dangerous situations. At any rate, David wasn’t going to tell his adult child how to live his life in this new reality. The trailer was large enough to house both of them, together or separately. Evan, his wife, and their small children along with Clint’s family would share the main house with David’s family and his parents.

  As far as supplies went, David had put away enough emergency supplies to feed the extended family for 6 months, or even longer if rationing was put into effect. Because winter was coming and no crops would be planted until spring, they needed other food sources to avoid using stored food unnecessarily. The farm did have chickens and dairy cows. The eggs and milk produced would be beneficial although they needed to keep feed for both groups of animals especially in the winter when the cows would not be able to forage. With the ground sure to be covered by snow soon they had made another trip to Pittsburgh to acquire oats for the cows and feed for the chickens. The woods behind the farm were full of game and David and his brothers wanted to replenish their food stores by deer hunting. It was hunting season in Pennsylvania and the state allowed permits to thin the deer population. Without the hunting, many deer would die of starvation or disease in the coming winter and it was better to allow the population to be kept at a sustainable level. Of course many of the usual hunters did not have transportation, or had other problems this year. David had seen very few hunters in the woods even though it seemed a logical way to prevent starvation. David was not going to push the deer into extinction, but he and his brothers and teenage children took full advantage of their proximity to the forest and the lack of competing hunters to bring down 8 large bucks before the snow started to fall. Clem and David showed the families who lived in Eastern cities how to gut the kills immediately, and how to butcher and process the meat. Even David, who hunted a lot, was used to taking the carcasses to be processed in nearby towns, but Clem knew how to salt and preserve the meat without the refrigeration they were sure to be lacking. As Clem instructed them, they used every part of the carcasses and did not leave anything to waste.

  Chapter 16

  As expected upon entering suburban Indianapolis, Clint, Barry and Megan saw no working vehicles. Some people
approached the trio, noticing their backpacks and asked for food and water. With potentially hundreds of miles of walking in front of them, they were not going to share supplies with strangers. A few people wanted to push the issue, but all 3 travelers were heavily armed and Clint’s demeanor, in particular discouraged them. It had been a week since the EMP and most stores and businesses had been broken into and looted severely. The group still searched a Wal Mart and a Target store they encountered but there were no usable supplies left. Even electronic supplies such as big screen TVs and computers were missing. They wondered why people took these things that would have no value, while all the expensive cars were still littering the streets where they had died.

  The three travelers wanted to find a motorcycle shop but did not know the city and could not find a yellow pages. In the recent past they simply would have googled motorcycles and used map quest or something similar to find their way around. Physical yellow pages did not seem to exist anymore, but they eventually found an office with some old yellow pages near the phones. They also found a map of Indianapolis and found several motorcycle shops within close walking distance. The first two they visited only had parts. All the motorcycles themselves were missing and Clint assumed all the bikes had already been taken. They did find a disassembled bike in the back room of the next shop and Clint managed to get it running after a few minutes of putting it back together. It was a smaller dirt bike and 2 people would barely fit on it, but not 3. Even if they had two bikes like this, the trip would be harrowing. Clint used the bike to check out some other shops that were not so close by, but could not find any other working bikes so eventually decided to see if he could find or rebuild a working vehicle.