by Bobby Akart
When she left the house, she was still unsure if this was the right thing to do. After Colton’s text, she was convinced. Her first stop was Barnes & Noble, where she sought the assistance of a store clerk to find the book from yesterday’s signing. That was easy. Then she asked a question that sent the young man’s brain into circuit overload.
“Do you have any books on prepping?”
He looked at her like a deer in headlights. No answer.
“You know, preparedness. Preppers? Anything?”
He thought for a moment and then replied, “I can show you the books about camping and hiking.” As he led her towards the rear of the store, Madison observed the other shoppers. They were sipping on their limited-time Starbucks Fizzio sodas that were still available because it was hot as Hades outside. “Here you are, ma’am. You’ll also find fitness, diet and health, and medical books here as well.”
“Thank you,” said Madison as she grabbed a copy of a book called The Survival Wilderness Handbook off the shelf. She spied another book called The Prepper’s Cookbook. That’s two.
Then she recalled what the author said yesterday to the people standing in line. Beans, Band-Aids, and bullets, plus shelter. Here was another one for the stack—Ultimate Survival Manual by Outdoor Life. She thumbed through the table of contents. These three survival guides, plus the EMP book, which contained an extensive prepper’s checklist, would do for starters.
Madison checked out and then thought about her priorities. Books were great resources, but there might not be enough time to read them. She thumbed through the prepper’s checklist. Their food pantry was pretty well stocked with at least a week’s worth of meals.
She glanced at her watch and realized she had plenty of time to make another stop. But where? Her mind raced as the adrenaline kicked into full gear. Dick’s Sporting Goods on Charlotte Pike was the closest store she could think of. Target was over there too.
After making her purchase, she took the neighborhood streets, avoiding the congestion of White Bridge Road, and found her way to Charlotte Pike. Traffic wasn’t bad, but the parking lot around Target and Dick’s was very full.
She hustled past the monument in the shape of a guitar, which was placed in front of Best Buy in honor of the now deceased legendary country music star George Jones. Two pickup trucks were parked in front of the store, loading canoes and camping supplies. The outside of the store was hectic, but the inside of the sporting goods store was worse.
Every checkout counter had a lengthy line. Madison made her way past a congregation of people in the front of the store who were waiting for their friends and family to pay for their things. Several areas of the store like the Team Shop and Alex’s beloved Golf Shop were devoid of customers. Other parts, especially the gun counter and camping supplies, were packed.
The gun counter was her first stop. She was the only woman in line waiting for a lone clerk. While she waited, she studied the checklist in the book she purchased at Barnes & Noble. The last dozen pages covered everything from food to weapons to medical supplies. She made mental notes regarding the items on the list. Finally, after twenty minutes, she was able to speak with a second clerk who arrived to assist.
“How may I help you?” he asked.
That was when it dawned on her. She had no idea what to buy. “Well, um, I don’t know.” She hesitated until she heard the groans of the impatient men behind her.
“Okay,” the clerk started. “Maybe I can help. What do you want the gun for?”
Madison’s mind immediately thought of hunting, but then reality set in. There aren’t many deer and antelope in Belle Meade. Where would we hunt? Protection. We need it for protection and security.
“Protection,” she blurted out. “I guess the most important thing for us is security.”
“Okay, now we’re getting somewhere,” said the clerk. “By far the best all-around weapon for security, and hunting, is the versatile shotgun. He reached behind the counter and showed her a black and brushed metallic shotgun. “For home defense, this weapon is very forgiving for nervous aiming. You don’t have to be particularly accurate to do some damage against an intruder.”
He racked the slide up and down, creating a loud, metallic CRACK CRACK. Madison jumped back slightly before regaining her composure. The men behind her snickered.
“It’s also perfectly suited for hunting small game, and larger animals if you have the right shells.”
Madison thought for a moment and then remembered her father-in-law’s shotgun that Colton put in the garage somewhere. She could use that one.
“I think we have a shotgun already,” she said. “What are the other options?”
“Get her an AR-15,” said one of the men behind her.
“Better yet, an AR-10,” added another sarcastically. “Then she can be a real bad …”
The salesclerk was a nice young guy and seemed genuinely interested in helping Madison. He continued with her options.
“Ma’am, we’re sold out of the guns they mentioned, and if you aren’t experienced, they might not be for you anyway. Let me suggest a handgun, namely this nine millimeter made by Beretta. It’s the official sidearm of our military and is very dependable. For your smaller hands and for concealed-carry purpose, this Series 92 Compact is a great choice. This one comes in all black; it’s less flashy.”
He handed her the gun and she took it from him with apprehension. She had never held a real handgun before. At first, she was a little afraid. The weight felt good and she gripped it. She could easily get three fingers on the grip for control. She liked it.
“Okay,” she choked out. Then she thought for a moment. Alex, too? She set the weapon back on the counter. “I mean okay. I’ll take it. In fact, give me three of them. Bullets too.”
“Yeah, I wish,” said the heavyset man behind her who was, frankly, starting to make Madison mad with his attitude.
“Ma’am, I’m sorry, but you can only purchase one at a time. The President passed an executive order after she was inaugurated that prohibited multiple sales of two or more guns to the same purchaser within five business days.”
“Oh, okay. I didn’t realize,” she started. She reached for the gun and asked, “Do I pay you or up front on the way out.”
This caused an uproar of laughter behind her. Madison had never contemplated buying a gun, so she was completely unaware of the procedure. She thought that showing the checkout clerk her driver’s license and social security card would be sufficient. People voted and received government welfare with less identification.
“Ma’am, you’ll need to fill out this Form 4473 required by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives. We’ll submit the form on your behalf, and you should be able to pick up your weapon in five to seven business days.”
“When?” she asked.
“Five to seven business days, ma’am,” the clerk responded. “There is a tremendous backlog in background checks, at both the state and federal level.”
Madison got frustrated. She didn’t need a gun in five to seven business days. She needed it now. If nothing happened by tomorrow, then she probably wouldn’t need one at all.
“Don’t you have any guns I can buy today?”
“No, ma’am,” he replied. “Everything requires a background check.”
She looked at the salesclerk in disbelief and walked away.
She gathered herself and sought out the stacks of ammunition on tables near the gun counter. The inventory levels were dwindling. She found the shotgun shells and was dumbfounded. She had no idea which ones would work in their shotgun, so she purchased a variety and decided to let Colton figure it out.
After picking up a dozen boxes of slugs and buckshot, she filled her cart with some compact nutrition bars called MRE food rations, which contained three thousand six hundred calories each. She purchased a medical kit, some camping gear, and then she came across a device called a LifeStraw.
She thought about the ramificat
ions of a major power outage. Would Nashville’s Metro Water Service be able to distribute water without power? It was so easy to get dehydrated. Her sparkling pool came to mind. The pump and filter system wouldn’t work, but the water could be purified. The LifeStraw packaging claimed to remove virtually all bacteria, and it surpassed standards for water filters. She could filter two hundred and fifty gallons with each device. She couldn’t calculate how long that would last them, but she hoped three would do the trick.
Finally, while she waited in line, she thought about her favorite television show on CBS—Survivor. Making fire was always a challenge. She saw some emergency fire starter flints on an end cap of the register. She grabbed the last four of them.
Madison was on her way to being a prepper.
Chapter 19
11 Hours
12:38 p.m., September 8
Dallas Cowboys Training Facilities
Ford Center at The Star
Frisco, Texas
One of his attorneys leaned over and whispered to Colton, “Have you heard about this solar flare thing? I guess a lot of flights are being rerouted, and now they’re talking about potential power outages.”
“Where did you hear that?” Colton whispered back. “Is it something official—out of Washington?”
“Nah, just news reports,” he replied. “But you know how they can get. When there isn’t some political scandal to talk about, they grab onto any kind of drama to boost ratings.”
Colton thought for a moment and then pulled his iPhone out of his jacket pocket. He finished the glass of water he had been nursing. He decided to look online for himself.
The first stop was FoxNews.com, but it yielded nothing. There was a brief mention in a video article about the potential for northern lights into the American Heartland, but no details. Then he went to his bookmark for the Drudge Report.
Jerry Jones paraded out Dez Bryant, Tony Romo, and former University of Tennessee star Jason Witten to meet the contingent as lunch concluded. Colton wanted to meet Witten, who had become one of the top tight ends in the NFL, but he was intent on finding an update. Drudge had a tendency to sensationalize his headlines to grab attention, so it was necessary to read the actual article he aggregated. One headline read The Heat is ON. Another simply read ANGRY!
He clicked on the second article and navigated his finger across the iPhone’s screen to CBSNews.com, which read Newest Hole in the Sun is a Doozy. It was updated eleven minutes ago and contained the latest imagery from NASA.
Colton glanced through the article, oblivious to his surroundings. New—and massive—coronal hole has developed on the sun’s surface, NASA announced today. This coronal hole will be responsible for high-speed solar winds coupled with solar particles, which are expected to collide with Earth sometime Thursday evening. Potentially ruinous effects on orbiting satellites and geo-positioning systems are likely. Travelers are urged to take caution and be aware that flights are being rerouted or canceled altogether per the FAA.
It was the last paragraph of the article that struck Colton. Why do the news media feel it’s necessary to downplay potential threats to our safety? Do they not think we can handle the truth? The paragraph read but the solar winds aren’t all bad. They’re also responsible for the beautiful auroras that will grace our skies this evening at latitudes as low as Oklahoma and Tennessee.
Tennessee! That’s it. Am I overreacting? Something is screaming—GET READY!
He was furiously texting Madison now. It was simple, and Colton doubted she would push back at his suggestion.
C: 911! Pull Alex out of school now! Get extra food. Be careful.
Chapter 20
10 Hours
1:00 p.m., September 8
Oval Office, The White House
Washington, DC
The President stood behind her desk and stared out onto the south lawn of the White House complex. There were no activities today, and she had planned an afternoon with her daughter and two grandchildren. Her husband was fund-raising on Long Island, which gave her the opportunity to unwind. She was having difficulty separating his former presidency from hers.
Despite the earlier briefing, she didn’t find a need to alter her schedule. But her Chief of Staff sent her an urgent message, so she made her way to the Oval Office to meet with key members of her national security team.
“Madame President, I apologize for interrupting your afternoon, but an update has been received from NOAA and NASA that requires your attention.”
“Fine, go ahead,” she bristled. “I’ve planned this day with my grandchildren and daughter for weeks. This better be important.”
“It is, Madame President,” he started.
She quickly turned around and sat in her chair. She motioned for the rest of the national security team to take seats as well. Her Chief of Staff handed her the updated report, and she glanced through it.
“These are the updated projections of a coronal mass ejection emitted from Active Region 3222 at approximately zero four hundred. Based on satellite analysis, an accurate prediction analysis has been created.”
“Plain English, please,” she said. “What exactly are we facing here?” She tossed the report on her desk and leaned back in her chair, clasping her fingers together across her stomach.
Secretary Sullivan replied, “In the next ten hours, the northern hemisphere of our planet will absorb the full brunt of an X58 solar flare with an accompanying coronal mass ejection greater than any in recorded history. There is a high probability our nation’s critical infrastructure will be severely damaged.”
“Kathryn, how is this information different from this morning’s NSA briefing?” she asked.
“Madame President, the timing of these events determines the impact on Earth. As of eight this morning, we were able to provide a fairly accurate analysis of the strength of the incoming solar ejection. Now, with an additional four hours of data, we can predict the probable sphere of impact.”
“Don’t leave me hanging here,” said the President, growing impatient.
Secretary Sullivan continued. “Based on Earth’s relative positioning and our proximity to the fall equinox, we are predicting a direct hit to the northern hemisphere around twenty-three hundred hours.”
The President remained silent for a moment. She spun in her chair and glanced out into the Rose Garden. “Do we have a protocol for this?”
“We do, Madame President,” replied Secretary Blumenthal. “The Space Weather Preparedness Strategy, or SWPS, was adopted by the prior administration in late 2015 to prepare, respond to, and recover from potentially devastating space weather events.”
“That’s admirable,” she interrupted. “What do the guidelines suggest?”
“The first step establishes the magnitude of the space weather event, and then we craft a response at the federal, state, and local level. Protection efforts would include assuring continuity of government, minimizing risks to our critical national infrastructure, and managing societal reaction to the event’s aftermath.”
“Well, at this point, I hardly see a need to implement martial law.” She laughed in her own unique way. “I think it’s important to figure out how we notify appropriate agencies without causing widespread panic. We do have to do everything we can, however.”
“Madame President, if I may,” interjected her Chief Political Advisor. “There is an action plan in place per the SWPS. Whether the next ten hours is sufficient time to implement it is not for me to decide. At this point, the media is beginning to drive the narrative. The British print media led the way early this morning, and now the cable news outlets are parading their experts out to the televisions of millions of Americans.”
“Okay, I get it,” said the President. “We need to issue a statement, and I assume you have a draft copy in the works.”
“I do,” he replied.
“Then how do we issue a public warning without causing widespread panic?”
“This is an issu
e that has been raised regarding the threat of near-Earth objects, NEOs, like asteroids,” replied Secretary Sullivan. “A key issue associated with the hazard from NEOs is that the length of time needed to implement a mitigation plan is affected by the accuracy of the trajectory of the NEO. In the case of a solar flare, whether a geomagnetic storm warning should be issued or not depends on the data received from our satellites. In this case, we were given nearly twenty hours’ notice of the solar event, but only ten hours’ notice of the probability of impact.”
“In other words, if we issue the order to prepare prematurely, we could unduly cause fear to the public,” said the President. “But if we wait too long, then the mitigation strategy will be for naught.”
“Madame President, I’ve been in contact with Dr. Dennis Mileti, a professor at the University of Colorado at Boulder,” said Secretary Sullivan. “He’s been a consultant to the SWPC in Boulder.”
“What does he think?” the President asked.
Secretary Sullivan summarized. “Dr. Mileti is of the opinion there are several myths associated with providing the general public warning of an impending disaster. The first myth is panic. He believes the fear of instilling public panic has repeatedly constrained providing an endangered public with effective warnings. It typically leads to downplaying risks, which robs the public of both the time and the motivation they need to act.”
“People panic easily,” interjected the Chief Political Advisor. “If we issue a warning that the world is coming to an end because the sun is having a bad day and nothing happens, we’ll lose credibility. Do I need to remind everyone of the public perception hit we took after cancelling the Daytona 500?”
“We have to craft a measured response to the experts that are hitting the news networks,” replied Secretary Sullivan. “I can call a press conference and issue a statement that exudes control and composure while providing the facts as we know them. If the media doesn’t sense panic, it won’t hit the airwaves to create panic. Perhaps we can invite the White House press corps to photograph and observe the President playing with her grandkids.”