Countdown to Armageddon (6 page)

     Linda had had her own problems, sure. But they were in the past. She’d come a long way. She certainly didn’t need a dirt bag like Glen dragging her down.

     Then Scott shook it out of his system. Wasn’t his business. Except that maybe it was.

     Linda answered the door and gave Scott a warm smile that he’d never really gotten over despite all the bad that had happened between them over the years.

     “Come on in, Scott. Can I get you a beer?”

     “Sure, why not?”

     She came back from the kitchen with a bottle of Bud Light for him and a can of Diet Coke for herself. That was a good sign. If she’d been drinking again she’d had taken the opportunity to get herself a beer as well.

     They made a little bit of small talk, but Scott was careful not to let it get out of hand. He wanted to get home to the boys, and needed to get the important stuff out of the way.
     “I’ve got something serious I need to talk to you about. But first, I need to tell you that there’s a good chance you’ll think I’m crazy.”

     “Oh, please, Scott. Give me a little bit of credit. I’ve never thought you crazy. You’re the most level headed man I’ve known in a long time. Probably my entire life.”

     “Good. That’ll make it a little bit easier.”

     She leaned forward and listened intently. She hadn’t seen him so tense in a very long time.

     “You remember in the months leading up to December, 2012, how the whole country was freaking out and saying the world was going to end?”

     She hesitated at the implication and then slowly said, “Yes…”

     “I have come to believe that there was some validity in that after all. I mean, I’ve found a lot of material that seems to indicate the Mayans never said the world was going to end that day. What they actually said was that date would begin a time when the world was in for a time of great adversity and tribulation. The window would open, at that time, of a period which would cause a major change in how man lived.”

     Linda was puzzled.

     “What are you saying?”

     “I believe that sometime in the near future, within the next couple or three years, that the sun will have a series of very vicious solar storms. I believe they will be so powerful that they will bombard the earth with what scientists call electro-magnetic pulses, or EMPs. And that they will be so powerful that nothing electrical or electronic, including our vehicles, will work anymore.”

     “Ever?”

     “Ever. Or at least until they are all rebuilt, with new parts. But they won’t have the electricity to power the machinery to make the replacement parts. So yes. You might as well say forever.”

     She couldn’t quite wrap her head around the concept.

     “So… what will happen to people? Will we survive?”

     “Mankind will go back to the way they lived before the industrial age. Back in the 1800s. Before electricity and cars were invented. There will be no more shopping at the local grocery store. Man will have to learn to grow his food. Or to kill it. And for many who don’t know how to do either, there’s a third option. They’ll steal it.”

     “Oh, my God! Is there anything we can do to prevent it from happening?”

     “No. There is no way to stop it. But there are ways to protect a limited amount of equipment from getting ruined. It’s not easy. And it’s not cheap. But it’s possible to save enough equipment, and enough electricity, to power and run on a small scale. In a safe place that is well hidden. People won’t try to steal it if they don’t know it exists.”

     “Is that why you bought that land up there in the middle of nowhere?”

     “Yes. That’s exactly why. I won’t be going in to work much over the next few months. They can get by without me. What I will be doing is getting the place ready, so that when the time comes it’ll be a safe place to go.”

     Linda hesitated, as though afraid to ask the question.

     “Safe… for who?”

     Scott suddenly felt pity, and maybe a bit of deeply buried love, for her.

     “Don’t worry. I wouldn’t leave you out. We have too much history. And the boys wouldn’t want to go on without you.”

     She sighed deeply. It occurred to Scott at that moment that she surely regretted what her life had become and wanted things to be the way they used to be. When she and Scott were married and he took care of her and covered for her addictions.

     But they both knew there had been way too much water under that bridge to go back.

     “Here’s the thing. When the time comes, I want you to make your way to my house. I had a spare house key made for you. Here it is. Put it on your key ring with the rest of your keys, and don’t tell Glen what it’s for. I don’t trust him. You might, but I don’t.”

     He pressed the key into her hand. She took the opportunity to grasp his hand and to hold it for a moment. Then he drew away.

     “When it happens, make your way to my house. In my office, in the file drawer, you’ll find a folder with your name on it. You’ll have to open the window blinds, because the power will be out. But you can find it.

     “Once you find the folder, open it up and follow the instructions. It’ll tell you everything you need to do to protect yourself, and to tell me that you’re ready. And then I will come for you. I’ll bring you to the compound and you’ll be safe.”

     She hesitated again. She was almost afraid of the likely answer to her next question.

     “Scott… what about Glen?”

     He took a deep breath before answering.

     “Look. I don’t like or trust Glen. You know that. But I realize that he is the man in your life now, and it’s not my place to try to tell you who to be with.

     “If you want to bring Glen with you, then bring him. However, he has to realize that running the compound will take a lot of work on everybody’s part. There will be crops to raise, livestock to care for, chores to do. Guard duty for the men. It won’t be a vacation resort. The only thing Glen knows about work is how to avoid it.”

     She winced. Scott’s words hit too close for comfort.

     He went on.

     “If you want to bring him along, that’s your business. But if he refuses to carry his share of the load, he will become a chain around everybody’s neck. And I swear to God, I will shoot him in the head and bury him up there.”

     “You can’t be serious.”

     Then she looked in his eyes and knew he was.

     “Yes, I am, and here’s why. If he is not carrying his load, then he will be an unnecessary drain on our resources. He will eat our food and drink our water without helping to replenish it. We cannot just banish him or kick him out. He’d gather up his buddies and tell them that we have livestock, and crops, and a secure compound with hot water and electricity.

     “And then he and his friends would try to take over the compound. And since Glen had been on the inside, he’d know the security system. He’d know the weak spots.

     “And do not kid yourself, Linda. If it gets to that point, he won’t come in asking nicely if he can steal everything we have. He’ll come in with guns blazing. And if you get shot, or the boys get shot, he won’t give a diddly damn. Because men like Glen only care about themselves. I’m surprised that after all this time you can’t see him for the user he is.

     “But again, that’s none of my business.”

     She was suddenly ashamed. Ashamed for having put herself in such a bad spot that she had to settle for a man like Glen to give her the affection and attention she craved. And she knew Scott was right. Glen took a hell of a lot more than he gave.

     Scott saw the sadness on her face. This time he took hold of her hands, and looked into her moistening eyes.

     “Look, this might hurt you. And if it does, I’m sorry. But you need to make a decision, ahead of time, whether to bring him with you. If you bring him, I will give him the benefit of the doubt. Maybe he’ll step up. Just understand what will happen if he doesn’t.”

     “How will I know when it happens?”

     Scott couldn’t help but laugh.

     “It’ll be hard not to notice. The power will go out. For everybody. It’ll be like a city wide blackout. Except that your cell phone won’t work either. Nobody’s will. And every car, every truck, will stop dead in its tracks. Airplanes will fall from the sky. It will become deathly quiet. Everyone will be in the streets, trying to figure out what’s happening. Asking when the power will come back on.

     “And it won’t. Not ever again.”

     She started to cry. Against his better judgment he held her.

     “Keep a bicycle handy. In fact, get a second bike. One you can keep in your trunk. I’ll help you pick out one that you can put the wheels on easily without tools.

     “And when everything goes off, ride that bike as fast as you can to my house. If you can’t get to your bike, then walk. Run if you can. Just get there.

     “I’ve clocked it. Your house is exactly nine miles from mine. I know it’s a long way, but you can make it in less than two hours by bike. You can walk there in half a day. If you get there quickly enough, you may catch the boys and I before I take them to the compound.

     “If not, find the folder with your name on it. It will tell you everything you need to do. And I’ll come back for you, I promise.”

     “Scott, I’ve got to ask you this. I suspect I already know the answer. And it terrifies me. But if I don’t ask you I will spend the rest of my life kicking myself. And I’ve got to know.

     “Once this thing happens, once we are together with the boys up at your compound, and if I leave Glen behind, is there…”

     Her voice broke.

     Scott knew her question was difficult, and he spared her the pain of having to ask it. At the same time, though, he didn’t want to lead her on or let her get the wrong idea.

     “I’m going to invite someone else to the compound. Another woman. Mostly because she is experienced in survival techniques and will be a helpful addition to our group. But I’d be lying if I told you I didn’t feel some attraction to her.”

     “I see.”

     “Linda, I’m not saying that what you are asking… were getting ready to ask… is not possible. At this point I don’t know what may happen. And at this point it doesn’t really matter. Let’s just focus on getting everyone safely there, and then let everything else fall where it may.”

     He rose and she followed him to the door. She hugged him goodbye.

     He started to walk out the door, and she stopped him.

     “Scott…”

     “Yes?”

     “Thank you… for caring enough to invite me along.”

     “You don’t have to thank me.”

     “Yes, I do. You could have just left me behind.”

     “No. I couldn’t. I could never do that.”

-10-

     Scott was on his tractor, plowing his new field, when Joyce drove into the yard.

     She’d been thinking a lot lately. She was tired of working. She needed a break. And she liked this guy Scott. She liked him a lot. She thought he liked her too. Today was the day she intended to find out if there was a chance at a relationship.

     She stepped out of her SUV and waved at him. He took off his straw cowboy hat and waved it back at her. Then he lifted the plow from the earth and drove the tractor over to where she stood.

     “Hey, there, cowboy. Or would ‘Farmer Scott’ fit you better?”

     “I think ‘cowboy’ sounds more macho. How have you been?”

     “I’ve been fine. But I need some advice. I hope you don’t mind me dropping in unannounced.”

     “No, not at all. It just so happens I’ve got something I wanted to talk to you about too. Let’s go in the house and get something cold to drink.”

     Joyce liked the way the sweat glistened on his arms. There was something sexy about a sweaty man. Maybe because it signified hard work to her, and hard work meant success. At least she’d always equated the two together. She followed him into the house, then the kitchen.

     “Why don’t you sit down, Scott. You’ve been working harder than me. I’ll fix the drinks. What’ll you have?”

     “I just made a pitcher of sweet tea. That sounds good. It’s in the fridge. There’s also some fresh squeezed lemonade in there if you want some of that.”

     “No, tea sounds good to me too,” she said as she pressed two tall tea glasses against the ice dispenser.

     Scott watched her from across the room. He liked the way her jeans hugged her hips and backside.

     “Scott, you know I made a good sized commission when you bought this place.”

     “That’s good. You worked extra hard twisting my arm to buy it, so you deserve something for your efforts.”