36 Hours: A Post-Apocalyptic EMP Survival Fiction Series (17 page)

After a few seconds of profuse sweating on the pavement, Colton stood and looked around.
What the heck just happened?
He dusted himself off and looked at his bloody knees showing through his pants. For a moment, Colton debated whether to wait for the trooper to return with his driver’s license or continue on his way.

Decision made. Colton was on the road again. He unbuttoned his shirt and turned all of the air vents in his direction so he could cool down. Turning off the adrenaline, however, was another matter. His heart was racing. People were shooting at each other on the highway, and he was doing a hundred miles an hour again after being stopped five minutes ago!

As he approached Hope, he decided to stop for gas, even though the tank had a hundred miles or more left in it. He could stop here, grab some water and munchies and maybe a change of clothes. The big blue Walmart sign at exit thirty provided him a pretty good option—until he reached the top of the exit ramp at Hervey Street.

Traffic was backed up in both directions. It would take forever to cross over the highway to get into Walmart. It appeared the entire town of Hope, Arkansas, was en route to their local Walmart. Colton looked to his right and saw an Exxon station. Cars were lined up onto Hervey, waiting their turn to pump gas. Some drivers stood outside their open car doors, with their hands on their hips. Several people waited in line, holding gas cans.

As Colton veered onto the shoulder of the exit ramp and began to back down the ramp to re-enter the interstate, he thought of a quote from church when he was a boy.

When the world says give up, hope whispers—try it one more time
.

Chapter 31

7 Hours

4:00 p.m., September 8

Ryman Residence

Belle Meade, Tennessee

For the better part of an hour, Madison and Alex watched news reports from around the country. The White House issued a brief statement stating they were monitoring the situation and first responders were prepared for every eventuality. The constant stream of images and news reports portrayed a different picture.

Society was collapsing. Long gas lines were shown, which included iPhone-filmed fistfights. Citizens’ recordings and hidden cameras had changed the media landscape. Eyewitness videos were everywhere. These videos often created a narrative that could be manipulated by the media and politicians alike. In a way, these videos, without providing proper context, could cause a lot of harm.

But one thing was certain, in American society, everyone loved to watch a train wreck. America was at the beginning of an action-packed disaster film in the making. Sensationalist journalism was on full display. Both CNN and Times Square established a
Countdown to Impact Clock
. At midnight eastern time, 11:00 p.m. in Nashville, the clock would reach zero and impact would supposedly occur. Alex, a fifteen-year-old who had a way with words, decried the countdown clock as stupid. Nobody knew the precise moment a solar storm could hit Earth—
it was too big!

Of course she was right, and the media knew this as well. But the clock created a sense of drama that kept viewers’ eyes glued to CNN and its sponsors’ messages.

Some of the news broadcasts were informative. Madison learned Earth barely missed being hit by a massive electromagnetic pulse burst from the sun in 2012. If that storm had hit the planet directly, the result would have been catastrophic. The scientists on the panel of guests hypothesized the current threat to be far greater than the 2012 event.

In addition to the most common predictions of radio blackouts and power outages, one economist talked extensively about the impact on the world’s economy. A Lloyd’s of London representative concluded the losses to be in the trillions of dollars. The rebuilding effort of the financial markets could take a decade.

Another guest was warning of a technological armageddon. Madison turned up the volume to hear his thoughts.

“
An electromagnetic pulse, whether man-made or caused by a solar flare, can range from a minor inconvenience to an extinction-level event. It just depends on how powerful it is
.”

“
What can we expect
?” asked the host.

“
In the worst-case scenario, we could be facing a situation where our electrical grids have been fried, there is no heat for our homes, our computers don’t work, most vehicles won’t run, financial markets will close, hospitals are unable to function, nobody can pump gas, and supermarkets cannot operate because there is no power and refrigeration. Basically, we would witness the complete and total collapse of the economy and society
,” the guest responded.

“
How would the EMP affect humans?
”

“
The health impacts are negligible, by comparison, to the overall impact on human life. According to the government-created EMP commission, ninety percent of the U.S. population would die from starvation, disease and societal chaos within one year of a massive EMP attack. It would be a disaster unlike anything mankind has experienced in history
.”

Madison hit the mute button and looked at Alex to see if this revelation induced a reaction in her. Apparently, it did not. This was a lot to heap on the shoulders of any teenager, whose lives were typically all about perceived drama. Alex, mature for her age, was unfazed.

“Mom, we should fill up the bathtubs, sinks, and every available container with water.” She jumped off the couch and headed upstairs. “You start in the kitchen, okay?”

“Uh, sure,” replied Madison. This certainly made sense and Madison was antsy. They should be doing something, not sitting around watching the same news reports repeatedly—
or anxiously waiting for Colton to come home or at least call
.

As she filled water containers throughout the house, she made one last phone call to her mother. It was too late for her to catch a flight to Nashville, and she assured Madison that she had an excellent support group. Her circle of friends in Siesta Key, both male and female, were elderly but feisty. They would take care of each other like family.

Empty glasses now stood full of water. Likewise, Tupperware, flower vases, mixing bowls, and even the mop buckets became storage containers for the most important ingredient of life—water.

Madison turned her attention to their food supply. Alex had organized their grocery purchases on their eight-foot-long, carved oak dining table. Food from the pantry was on display as well. She placed cleaning supplies on the floor next to the outside wall, and personal hygiene supplies were clustered together in one corner.

“Wow,” Madison muttered aloud. “Where do I start?” She thought back to a passage she’d read on that author’s website. For the beginning prepper, he suggested you think about your everyday life—from the time you wake up in the morning until you sleep at night.
Consider the things you do as part of your everyday routine
.

Remember the Prepper Rule of Threes
, he admonished.
Three is two, two is one, and one is none. After the end of the world as we know it, or TEOTWAWKI, Walmart and Target will be closed. You either have what you need, or you will have to forage and barter for those items. Both of those activities are fraught with risk.

For example, many people brush their teeth first thing in the morning. Make sure you have a toothbrush, toothpaste, and a backup for each.
Madison thought about her routine. Well, the first thing she did was use the bathroom. That required toilet paper. Ugh! What if they didn’t have any more toilet paper.

Madison ran into the kitchen and grabbed a notepad and pen. She began making a list.

Toothpaste. Toothbrushes. Toilet paper!

The next thing she would do was have breakfast. She looked at the dining table covered with food and considered the most nutritious, easy-to-fix meals for breakfast.

Cereal. Oatmeal. Sugar. Honey. Powdered milk
.

As part of her morning routine, after she ate, she would take her vitamins, peruse the news headlines online, and enjoy a cup of coffee.

More vitamins. Coffee. Powdered creamer. Herbal tea bags
.

Madison thought about her laptop sitting on the kitchen table in the mornings, unplugged. She immediately ran around the house, plugging in all of the electronic devices so they would be fully charged. What else?

The compressor of the freezer in the kitchen kicked on. Yes! She opened both refrigeration units and turned their levels to maximum. This might add an extra few hours of chill to the food inside.
We’ll not worry about energy savings today
.

“Mom,” Alex asked as she came down the stairs, “do we have a portable radio? You know, like the old days?”

Crap! They needed some kind of weather radio or at least a small handheld AM radio like people used at sporting events.

Portable radio. Batteries
.

“I’m making a list, honey,” replied Madison. “We don’t have one that I know of.”

“Whadya want to eat for dinner?” asked Alex, staring into the pantry. “Should we cook something or just munch on something in the fridge.”

Cooking! I forgot. How are we going to cook this stuff?
They had a propane grill, but they could use something more portable—like campers used. What about cast iron?

Portable camp grill. Cast iron. Aluminum foil. Heavy-duty oven mitts
.

Alex entered the dining room as Madison continued to scribble notes on the list.

Basic tool kit. Tea kettle or campfire coffee pot. Gas can, with gas
.

“Mom, why are you making a list? Amazon probably won’t be delivering tomorrow.”

Madison caught her breath and brushed the hair out of her face. She was sweating. She looked at Alex and contemplated the risks and dangers of going back out.

The store shelves might be empty. Places like Kroger, Publix and Walmart would be so full of shoppers that they could get trampled to death. Madison thought of alternatives that might not be on other people’s radar.

But even then, she replayed the events at the store and ATM from just two hours ago. She glanced at the images filling the screen on CNN. People were going crazy! Other drivers would be dangerous. Looters might be out already. They could get robbed, at gunpoint this time.

Madison studied the list. Were the items written down worth risking her life and her daughter’s? She looked into the mirror hanging on the dining room wall and lifted her chin to show the scabbed wound. Madison winced slightly as she pushed against her bruised cheek, causing the skin to turn momentarily white before returning to its new shade of purplish red. She made a decision.

Life isn’t about steering clear of peril. It’s about making calculated risks and then going all in
.

She had to do something. She needed to do all she could to get ready.

“We’re goin’ on a run,” announced Madison.

Alex shrugged nonchalantly and said, “Okay. Can we get pizza?”

Chapter 32

7 Hours

4:40 p.m., September 8

ALMA

Atacama, Chile

Dr. Stanford sat back in a chair, twirling the end of a pen in her mouth. Only a few members of the JAO Team remained at their stations. Some of the scientists were trying to catch a plane out of the coastal city of Antofagasta on the Pacific Ocean to their native countries. The team’s projections spared ALMA and countries closer to the equator from the grid-destroying effects of the G5 geomagnetic storm. Dr. Stanford agreed that if the storm took out the electric grid this close to the center of the planet geographically, the world would be facing an extinction-level event.

Her dutiful assistant, Jose, remained by her side throughout the day. He was a workhorse, especially when it came to dealing with the various world governments that relied upon her forecasts. Dr. Stanford knew he was exhausted and urged him to take a nap on the sofa in her office. He declined, as she knew he would.

Like Dr. Stanford, Jose had been fascinated by the sun as the giver of life. A devout Catholic, Jose was in awe at the position of the earth and the perfect orbital distance from the sun to sustain life. In his mind, only God could have created this wondrous planet and all forms of life that inhabited it.

Jose was careful to avoid debates about religion and science with his colleagues. He learned early on that the majority of his peers were nonbelievers, and there was nothing he could say to convince them otherwise. To him, the miracles provided by God were amazing, and he didn’t want to complicate his faith by someone else’s scientific view.

Dr. Stanford had conversations with Jose when he was first elevated to his position. She respected his point of view and promised not to impose her scientific way of thinking upon him. She grew up fascinated by the magnificence of the sun like he did. Their childhood shaped their lives, and now they were able to work side by side without the complications of religious beliefs affecting their working relationship.

“Jose, we’ve got the best seat in the house,” said Dr. Stanford. “As long as the satellites don’t get blasted out of orbit, we’ll be able to see the impact of this G5 in all its glory.”

“It will be historic, Dr. Stanford,” he added.

“Look at this,” said one of the JAO Team. Dr. Stanford and Jose turned their attention to his array of monitors, which produced satellite imagery of X-rays, magnetic energy, and temperature tables. He pointed to one of the monitors. “Check out the magnetogram. Look at these readings along the sun’s surface.”

Dr. Stanford studied the monitor. An area on the west limb of AR3222 showed a brilliant plume of plasma erupting from the surface.

“Another one,” she muttered.

“It might loop,” said Jose, referring to the sun’s habit of bending much of its escaped magnetic energy back into its coronal opening. “That said, even with a loop, it will likely shoot an electromagnetic pulse our way.”