36 Hours: A Post-Apocalyptic EMP Survival Fiction Series

by Bobby Akart

  He thought about how comfortable life was for Americans. Technology gave them the opportunity to make automobile tires spin at high speeds without vibrations. Computers could be attached to a vehicle’s computer and diagnose every aspect of its functionality. Information was at their fingertips via the Internet. They could fly from coast to coast in less than seven hours—a trip that took the early settlers, using a horse-drawn carriage, months.

  The experts on the radio warned this one giant burst from the sun would strip those modern conveniences in a given moment. It would change everything. Technologically, it would throw America back into the 1800s.

  Colton suddenly became very thankful for his family and the good things he had. He promised himself he would never take them for granted.

  Chapter 40

  2 Hours

  9:00 p.m., September 8

  Bolivar Highway

  Jackson, Tennessee

  The barricades crossing Bolivar Highway and the two police cars blocking the road stood in direct contradiction to the sign Colton was parked next to, which read Jackson Welcomes You, We’re Glad You’re Here. This was clearly not a welcoming committee.

  He turned off the truck and took out the small LED flashlight he’d purchased at T Ricks. He turned the page in the Rand McNally Road Atlas and studied his alternatives. He was immediately upset with himself. He should have studied back-road options before getting in this predicament.

  About fifteen minutes ago, he’d crossed Highway 100, which would take him directly to Nashville. There were dozens of small towns in between, any of which could pose a roadblock problem or potential looters, but at least it was progress. With no viable options around the city of Jackson, Colton closed up the map and turned around. He found the first side street headed east and made his way through the neighborhoods.

  It was an odd sight. People were talking in their front yards, some cooking on their grills. In some respects, it resembled a Fourth of July block party. Many of the men were carrying rifles slung over their shoulders. As he drove by, he garnered their attention. None of the residents made a threatening move toward him, but he was clearly being watched.

  As he turned south on US 45 and made his way back to Highway 100, he thought about his neighbors. Their home was not conducive to neighborhood social interaction. The houses were spread apart with long driveways to a private garage area. Although Harding Place had a sidewalk to encourage walking, jogging, and bike riding, the road itself was heavily traveled as an east-west route from Belle Meade to Interstate 65 and beyond to the Nashville airport. As a result, the types of block parties Colton just observed didn’t exist. They rarely held get-togethers with their neighbors. Even Friday night’s soiree would be made up of primarily business acquaintances, with the exception of a couple of neighbors.

  Colton easily passed through the small town of Henderson and sped up Highway 100. He felt he was on the home stretch. He looked at the inexpensive Timex Camper watch he’d purchased from T Ricks for its actual retail price of thirty-five dollars. He thought it would be handy if the solar storm ruined his Apple watch, which would be worthless in any event.

  It was just after 9:00. Colton tried to call home. All circuits are busy. The phone was fully charged now, but he kept it plugged in. From what he heard on the radio, the phone would be fried anyway, but he thought he’d keep it charged just in case it wasn’t. He tried a text message. It left his phone with a swoosh.

  C: East of Jackson. Love you guys!

  Colton held the phone for several minutes, anticipating a response. It never came. Colton was unaware that text would never go through.

  As he drove northeast toward the small town of Decaturville, he tried to reach Madison several times but the all circuits are busy recording was working overtime. He was within hours of home, but the brunt of the solar flare was already bearing down on the planet.

  It was dark on this deserted stretch of highway as he passed towns like Jack’s Creek and Lick Skillet. The fertile lowland of the Tennessee River basin in West Tennessee was prime real estate for growing cotton, soybeans, and other crops. Colton leaned forward in his seat and looked up at the sky. It was beginning to exhibit the early aurora effect as promised by the weather watchers.

  The bright dancing lights of the electrically charged particles from the sun were created as they entered the earth’s atmosphere. At this point, the faint colors of blue and green engulfed the sky in a thin cloud or veil. The full moon began to rise over the eastern horizon and took on psychedelic colors as its reflection mixed with the hues of blue and green.

  Colton wondered how something so beautiful could be so potentially deadly. Then he came to a realization. It wasn’t the sun’s particles and the beautiful aurora it produced that were going to be deadly. It would be man’s reaction to the aftermath—just like his granddaddy said.

  Never underestimate the depravity of man.

  He pressed down on the gas despite the shaking of the front end. He didn’t care if the truck shook out all of his fillings. He needed to protect Madison and Alex.

  Chapter 41

  Zero Hour

  11:00 p.m., September 8

  Ryman Residence

  Nashville, Tennessee

  The solemn CNN news team of Wolf Blitzer, Jake Tapper, and Don Lemon continued their commentary as their Countdown to Impact Clock approached 0:00—Zero Hour. The scene at Times Square in New York was reminiscent of a New Year’s Eve countdown without the revelry and deprivation.

  The satellite newsfeed became erratic. DirecTV would frequently become frozen and pixelated, as if a serious thunderstorm was passing over Nashville. Error Code 771 would appear frequently, and then the programming would continue. The World Wide Web had ceased to function consistently about an hour ago as power outages affected web servers around the world.

  Madison wrapped all of their small electronic devices in heavy-duty aluminum foil. Then she placed their cell phones, laptops, and portable radios in the cardboard-lined galvanized trash cans purchased at the hardware store. She explained to Alex what she read about Faraday cages. The plan was to shield the electronics from the massive burst of energy created by the solar storm.

  They sat on the sofa, held hands, and prayed together—something Madison and Alex hadn’t done as mother and daughter for years. They were anxious. Alex kept reminding her mom that the clock was arbitrary. The sun didn’t send a memo to the stupid news networks announcing the arrival time of the solar flare. Yet the Impact Clock ticked toward zero anyway.

  Where is Colton? The Impact Clock was winding down. Under three minutes. Earlier, Madison stopped looking out of the windows after Alex got annoyed. She had been up and down off the sofa constantly for an hour.

  Their eyes were fixated on the television monitors. The eyes of the crowd in Time Square were glued to the digital screens and billboards all around the most famous stretch of cityscape in the world—the intersection of Broadway and Seventh Avenue. What had once been dubbed The Center of the Universe became a mass of humanity—waiting, hopeful, and full of apprehension.

  As the Impact Clock hit 2:22, the bolt lock on the kitchen door snapped. Then the door handle wiggled before the door flung open.

  Frightened, Madison jumped and quickly turned to look toward the kitchen.

  “Did you miss me?”

  She flung herself off the couch and ran around the furniture in that direction. Alex hopped over the back and hit the wood floor in a sprint.

  The impact of the two hugging Colton knocked him against the kitchen island. All three of the Rymans were sobbing, holding each other tight, eyes clenched shut. Words were not spoken, but ample tears streamed down everyone’s faces.

  “I love you guys so much!” Colton managed to say through his sniffles.

  “We love you, Daddy!”

  “Colton, you have no idea how much we need you. I never want us to be apart again!” said Madison as she buried her face in his chest.

  After a m
oment, Madison pulled away and looked down to hide her bruised face. The attempt to cover bruises and scabs with makeup was erased by the tearful outburst.

  “What happened to your knees?” she asked through her sobs as she examined his bloodstained, torn suit pants.

  “I hit the pavement and had to scramble away when the gunfire started,” he replied.

  “Real gunshots?” asked Alex, through the tears.

  Colton took his hands and gently lifted Madison’s face up to kiss her. He saw her bruises and scrapes. “Oh, honey, what happened?”

  “I’m okay,” replied Madison. “I got mugged at the ATM today.”

  “What? Are you hurt elsewhere? Thank God you’re okay.”

  “I beat him with a golf club, Daddy,” Alex proudly added.

  “Which one?”

  “Which one what?” Alex began to ask and then answered her own question, “My sand wedge.”

  “Good club choice, sweetheart,” replied Colton as the laughter helped ease the tension, and the tears. “Thank God you’re both okay.”

  They began to move into the living room when Alex exclaimed, “Hey, look! The clock stopped at zero and nothing happened.”

  The CNN cameras panned the mass of humanity as a spontaneous eruption of joy and relief filled the packed crowd. The trio of news anchors couldn’t contain themselves as they exchanged hugs and handshakes. Jubilation accompanied pandemonium in Times Square, the so-called Center of the Universe, as the bright neon lights from the McDonald’s logo to the Bank of America sign continued their dazzling display. Then—

  CRACKLE! SIZZLE! SNAP—SNAP—SNAP!

  Darkness. Blackout.

  Zero Hour.

  Thanks for reading 36 HOURS, the first book in my new Blackout series!

  The saga will continue in…

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  ZERO HOUR

  Book two of The Blackout Series

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  TURNING POINT

  Book three in The Blackout Series

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  Copyright Information

  © 2016 Freedom Preppers Inc. All rights reserved. Except as permitted under the U.S. Copyright Act of 1976, no part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed or transmitted in any form or by any means, or stored in a database or retrieval system, without the prior written permission of Bobby Akart.

  Go Back to Contents

  APPENDIX A

  Please learn from and enjoy a sneak peek of Bobby Akart’s best-selling analysis on the threats we face from an EMP: Electromagnetic Pulse, a part of The Prepping for Tomorrow Series

  by Bobby Akart.

  CYBER WARFARE EMP ECONOMIC COLLAPSE

  AN EXCERPT FROM EMP: ELECTROMAGNETIC PULSE

  PART ONE

  WHAT IS AN ELECTROMAGNETIC PULSE?

  Chapter One

  Let’s Get Technical

  Author’s Note: Bear with us here. Understanding the technical aspect of electromagnetic pulse technology is critical to assessing the threat and making your preparations.

  An electromagnetic pulse—EMP, is an intense burst of electromagnetic energy caused by an abrupt, rapid acceleration of charged particles, usually electrons. An EMP can contain elements of energy over a large part of the electromagnetic spectrum, from very-low-frequency radio, to ultraviolet, wavelengths.

  A typical example is a lightning strike that produces a localized EMP. As the lightning makes contact, it can direct a large electrical current in nearby wires. A single current surge can damage sensitive electronic circuitry, such as wires and connection contained in computers and ancillary equipment. Most of us are aware that electronic and communications systems should have some form of protection against the effects of the surge of electricity caused by a lightning strike. Surge protection devices, AC outlets, and modem jacks offer limited protection against the naturally-occurring electromagnetic pulse caused by lightning.

  By definition, an explosion results from the very rapid release of a large amount of energy within a limited space. This definition applies to a lightning strike, a conventional explosive like dynamite, as well as for a nuclear detonation. However, the energy produced by any one of these explosions results from different means.

  The sudden release of energy causes a considerable increase of temperature and pressure so that all the materials present are converted into hot, compressed gasses. These gasses reach an extremely high temperature and an increase in pressure, as they expand rapidly. This expansion initiates a pressure wave, or shock wave in its surroundings, whether ground, air, or water. One of the common characteristics of any explosion is a sudden increase in pressure at the front of the resulting wave, followed by a gradual decrease behind it. A shock wave of any magnitude is commonly referred to as a blast wave because it resembles, and is often accompanied by, a very strong wind.

  Understand that all explosions are relative. The effects of the shock wave are directly proportional to the amount of electromagnetic energy associated with the detonation. Its force and effect depend on the quantity of energy associated with the explosion.

  Like most conventional munitions, nuclear weapons impact its target with a blast wave. There are significant differences, however. Nuclear explosions are millions of times more powerful than the largest of conventional weapon detonations. For the release of the tremendous amount of energy associated with a nuclear weapon, the mass of the nuclear explosive must be much less than that of a conventional high explosive. Also, the temperatures reached in a nuclear explosion are much higher.

  One of the principal differences between conventional weapons and a nuclear EMP is the powerful electrical currents created by the blast. For that reason, the effectiveness of the conventional bomb and a nuclear EMP differ because the target is vastly different. Conventional weapons seek out hard targets—a surface burst. Nuclear EMPs seek out a high-altitude location above the Earth’s surface—an air burst.

  Chapter Two

  What are the characteristics of a nuclear EMP?

  A nuclear EMP has three components—E1, E2, and E3, as defined by the International Electrotechnical Commission, or IEC.

  The E3 pulse is a very slow pulse that can last anywhere from ten seconds to several minutes. An E3 is common in geomagnetic disturbances from the sun—solar storms, and will vary in effect, based on the strength of a solar induced EMP.

  The E2 pulse usually lasting less than a second, is similar in strength and timing to the electrical pulses produced by lightning.

  The E1 pulse is a very fast pulse that generates high voltages in electrical conductors. It is produced when gamma radiation from a powerful nuclear detonation strips away electrons from the Earth’s atmosphere. The process of stripping away the electrons is commonly known as the Compton Effect—the result of a high-energy photon colliding with a target, which releases the electrons. Once released, these electrons travel downward through the Earth’s atmosphere at nearly the speed of light.

  If the Earth did not have a magnetic field, a large vertical pulse of electric current like this would strike the area immediately below the detonation. But in reality, the Earth’s magnetic field deflects the flow
of electrons across the surface of the planet to create a very large, brief burst of energy—an EMP. This is why there is an inverse relationship between the height of the detonation and the surface area affected; the lower the detonation altitude—the smaller the affected area. A height burst of three hundred miles would affect the U.S. from coast-to-coast.

  The E1 pulse causes most of its damage by overwhelming electrical breakdown voltages. An E1 pulse can destroy all forms of electronics because the surge of energy is simply too fast for ordinary surge protectors to provide sufficient protection from the enormous voltage spike.

  Chapter Three

  What are the differences between a Nuclear EMP, a CME, and an RF Weapon?

  As was mentioned above, an electromagnetic pulse comes in many forms, including lightning, geomagnetic disturbances from the Sun, and nuclear weapons EMP weapons.

  Here, we will also introduce some of the newest technology in the form of Radio Frequency Weapons—RFW.

  RF Weapons, also known as directed-energy weapons, use electromagnetic energy on specific frequencies to disable electronic systems. The principle is similar to that of high-power microwave (HPM) weapons. HPM systems tend to be much more sophisticated and are more likely to be in the control of technologically advanced nations. RF weapons, by contrast, are simple and low-voltage enough that they could be deployed by smaller, less technologically enhanced forces, including terrorists. In fact, they can be manufactured using parts purchased online, or at your local Radio Shack store. Instructions for assembling the components and how to use the RFW are available online as well.