The End (9 page)

San Diego, California

Gordon's ride home from the store was taking a lot longer than he thought it would. His first downhill slope didn't go well; the weight of the full trailer made it intensely difficult to control his speed. That weight made uphill rides completely impossible. So Gordon had to push the bike and trailer for the rest of the trip. Sweat was pouring off his face and drenching his clothes. All along Camino del Sur, the main road to and from his neighborhood, abandoned cars filled every lane. Most of the owners had now given up and walked home. Though Gordon had stayed in decent shape after leaving the Marine Corps, pushing the bike was proving to be quite the challenge.

When he crested the hill at the intersection of Camino del Sur and Carmel Valley Road, he finally took a break. He sat down on the sidewalk and drank some water, thinking to himself that maybe he should go to another store after this trip. The more he could supply his family, the longer they could hold out. He knew eventually he would have to tell his neighbors what he knew, but not until he could secure as much as he could for his own family. He sat on the sidewalk with his head down, watching the sweat drop off his face and chin and onto the sidewalk. As he felt the cool breeze hit his hot face, he became aware of the unusual silence for the first time. The hum of cars was replaced by the sound of birds flying. How strange, he thought. How peaceful it seemed right at this moment. He knew the peace would end soon, once people realized what had occurred.

Gordon had never really feared death, but now he did. If something were to happen to him, how would his family make it? Samantha was as tough as they came. She had been a top producing sales person for a large firm. Her reputation in the corporate world preceded her, she was aggressive and no-nonsense, all business, and didn't take shit from anyone. That type of toughness was great in an insulated environment, but this wasn't about being tough in a board room. The true realities of what was coming were frightening; the way people lived would forever change and only those who could adapt quickly would survive.

If Gordon's fears proved correct, then in an instant, the United States had been transported back to before the Industrial Revolution. There would be a fight for resources, specifically food and water. Electricity had enabled the country and society in general to feed many people, but without power this equilibrium would stop immediately. The area they lived in would not be able to support the 3.2 million residents. Soon, the water would dry up, and then the food. Gordon couldn't bear to think about it anymore; he needed to keep moving. He decided to attempt another trip today, which wouldn't be possible if he didn't make it home quickly.

As he started to push the bike, he heard a familiar sound coming from behind him. It sounded like a car, something with some real horsepower. He stood still, waiting. The sound grew louder; the car was coming his way. At the top of the hill, emerged a cherry red 1957 Chevy truck. He had seen that truck before; he put out his arm and waved. The truck pulled up right next to him.

Gordon bent over and peered through the passenger window. The driver leaned over and started to crank the window down.

“Hey, buddy,” the driver said.

“Jimmy, what's up?” Gordon asked.

“This is some shit, isn't it?” Jimmy replied, then pointed to Gordon's bike and trailer. “What's going on here?”

Gordon paused and considered whether he should he answer his friend's question honestly. As he played out the scenario in his head, he started to realize that if he and his family were to survive long-term, they would need cooperation with others.

“I went to the store to get supplies,” Gordon answered. Leaning further into the open window he followed up with his theory. “Jimmy, here's what I am guessing: We've been hit with some type of nuke.”

“Nuke?”

“I know, you think that a nuke just blows everything up and it does if it blows up on the ground or just above it, but if it blows up high in the atmosphere it causes what they call an electromagnetic pulse. Essentially, it fries everything electrical.”

“Gordon, you're confusing me, slow down.”

“Jimmy, it's pretty much the end of the fucking world right now, trust me on this. I know for sure that this isn't some blackout like a few years ago. This is everything electrical, cars, phones, everything,” Gordon said, speaking faster and faster.

“I need to get home, then,” Jimmy said, placing his hand on the gear shift.

“Wait a minute. I'm sure your family is fine. What you and I need to do is team up and get supplies as fast as we can. There is some low-hanging fruit out there that we need to pick before panic and total fucking chaos erupt.”

Jimmy looked back at Gordon and asked, “Are you sure about all of this, Gordon?”

“I'm not sure about the size of this attack, but you see me here, pushing this thing.” Gordon pointed to his overflowing trailer.

“Gordon, I need to get home to check on my family.”

“I understand, but do this as soon as you get home. Fill every tub, sink basin, jug, whatever you can with water. Soon, water will stop flowing. Once you feel secure, come to my house and we'll head out to another store to get food and more supplies.”

“Okay, I'll see you soon.” It seemed as though Jimmy sped off before he even finished his sentence. Gordon looked on as he accelerated down the road, zigzagging around the endless obstacle course of stalled cars. He then realized he and Jimmy weren't thinking clearly as Gordon should have asked him for a lift.

“I'm such an idiot!” Gordon said out loud as he watched Jimmy's truck vanish over the hill.

It took Gordon another thirty minutes to complete his journey home. He parked the bike in front of his house and ran to the door. The ride had really taken a lot out of him, but he needed to unload as soon as possible so he could go back out.

He opened the door and yelled for Samantha. He walked down the hallway to the kitchen and grabbed a towel. He was drenched with sweat.

“Daddy, Daddy!” Haley yelled from upstairs.

He could hear her running down the steps.

“Daddy, Daddy!” Haley yelled again as she ran into the kitchen.

Gordon bent down and opened his arms. Haley ran straight into him.

“Yucky, Daddy, you're all wet!” Haley squirmed away from Gordon.

“Sorry, sweetie, Daddy was working.”

Samantha walked up to Gordon and hugged him too. “Thank God you're safe.”

“Thanks, honey. Not to cut the homecoming short, but I have to get the bike inside, and Jimmy's stopping by anytime.”

“Why is Jimmy coming by?” Samantha sounded very curious about this newest development.

“I ran into him on the way home from the store. By the way, the trip was a huge success. I told Jimmy my theory on the situation. He has a working vehicle, so we're going to take it to Ralph's in 4S Ranch to see if we can get more supplies,” Gordon said, wiping sweat from his face as he laid out his plan.

“What should we do while you're gone?”

“Why not go down to Jimmy's house and spend some time with Simone? The kids will love it and you can help her with any prepping she hasn't done,” Gordon said. He tossed the towel down on the counter and walked to the garage.

He manually unlocked and pushed up the garage door. Just as he stepped outside an elderly neighbor from two doors down ran up to him.

“Did you hear?” The man was very clearly stressed. “The blackout is due to some sort of terrorist attack.”

“How do you know that?” Gordon asked. He placed his hands on his hips and looked at the older man, feigning skepticism.

“I have a hand-crank radio and heard the emergency broadcast system put out an alert. They've been repeating it every few minutes. Something about an attack on the power grid and some kind of attacks back east. Right now the info isn't clear.”

“What else did they mention?”

“That's it; they recommend that we all stay inside and that the power may be out for a few days or more.”

Gordon scoffed to himself, knowing that it would be a lot longer than a few days; then he remembered that the man mentioned other attacks on the East Coast. He wondered what that meant. Knowing the news would eventually get out and once it did it would spread quickly; he couldn't waste time.

“Maybe I can come over and listen with you later or maybe you could help keep me informed if you hear anything else,” Gordon said to his neighbor as he stepped over to his bike.

“Looks like you were thinking this thing could last longer,” his neighbor commented, noticing all the food and supplies.

“I always like to be prepared,” Gordon answered; he still couldn't come to an agreement with himself whether or not to share his opinion until he could secure more food and supplies.

The rumbling of Jimmy's truck interrupted their conversation. The neighbor turned quickly, surprised.

“Your truck works?” he asked while jogging up to Jimmy.

Gordon parked his bike inside and noticed Samantha standing there with Haley.

“Where's Hunter?” Gordon asked.

“He's upstairs standing watch,” Samantha said.

“Good,” Gordon said, nodding.

Gordon then heard his neighbor ask, “Can I go with you?”

Gordon turned around and shook his head at Jimmy. Jimmy raised his shoulders and told the neighbor, “Not enough room, sorry.”

Jimmy was short, lean, and always looked like he had slept with his clothes on. His shoulder-length brown hair was hardly ever styled. Gordon just assumed that Jimmy's focus was not on himself but on his business and family. Jimmy ran a successful business near downtown San Diego.

“Gordon!” Samantha said loudly.

Gordon turned back around to face Samantha and walked up to her. He stood in front of her and whispered, “We don't have the room.”

“We have to start helping our neighbors,” Samantha said, interrupting him.

“We don't have the room, Sam. We need to get as many supplies as possible. He is not my concern right now, you and the kids are.”

“I'm sorry, Gordon, this is not how we'll survive. We need to help our neighbors,” Samantha said.

“Sam, I don't even know his name, do you? Listen, I need to get going and get more supplies. Please trust me and don't interfere.”

“I think you're wrong, but I'll leave it at that. I'm going to go inside and get Hunter. We're going to go over to Jimmy and Simone's house.” Samantha turned and walked back into the house with Haley.

Gordon watched her walk back inside. He respected his wife, but he would not budge on this. Protecting his family was his priority; helping neighbors would come a distant second.

“Sorry. Maybe we can pick you up some ice, but we don't have room for you,” Jimmy kept insisting to the neighbor standing outside his truck.

“I'm sorry, I'm Gordon,” Gordon said, walking back up to his neighbor with his hand stretched out.

“James,” the neighbor said, shaking Gordon's hand.

“What do you need? Maybe we can pick up some items for you. That's if we can even get in a store; it could be closed.”

“I want some ice for my freezer items and some batteries, Ds and AAs,” James answered.

“Okay, we'll see what we can do. We'll let you know when we get back,” Gordon said.

“Thank you. Can I give you my credit card?” James asked.

“Don't worry about it, let's settle up later.”

“Thank you very much,” James said, then walked off toward his house.

Watching James, Gordon thought that he would soon have to let everyone know what he thought, but that would have to wait till tomorrow. Today and tonight was about getting more supplies for his family.

Gordon turned toward Jimmy and said, “Give me a minute.”

Gordon then jogged into the garage, closed it behind him, locked the door, and made his way to his office. He unlocked his armoire and pulled open a drawer; inside were several handguns. He grabbed an HK 9 millimeter and two full magazines. He tucked it into his pants and locked the armoire back up.

On his way out the front door he ran into Samantha. She was bringing the kids down the stairs.

“Sam, I heard you out there. I know you think that I don't listen sometimes but I do. I hear what you're saying, and my plan, our plan, is to eventually come together as a community and work together to survive this,” he said with a softer tone than he had spoken to her just moments before.

She reached the landing of the stairs holding Haley in one arm and a bag in the other. Hunter was following close behind with a small backpack. “Sweetie, I get it. I do understand what you're doing and I appreciate you for doing it. I never doubt your commitment to this family. I guess I just hate knowing that others will suffer and here we are stocking up.”

“It does suck for them, but they are not my responsibility. You all are,” he said, looking and feeling better now that she was on board.

“Stop wasting time and get back out there,” she said with a grin.

“Roger that. I love you,” he said, winking at her. He walked up to her and kissed her, then kissed Haley.

“Love you, Daddy,” Haley said, then followed up with a quick request. “Can I come with you?”

“Not this time, sweetie, sorry. Go with Mommy and visit your friend Mason,” Gordon answered, petting Haley's head. He looked at Hunter, who was standing on the step behind Samantha. “Big guy, remember, take care of your ladies while I'm out.”

“Yes, sir, I will,” Hunter said. He was a bit tired now. “Can I play Xbox later?”

The question broke Gordon's heart. All the little luxuries to which his kids had become accustomed were gone in a flash.

“Sorry, buddy, but the power is out and will be for some time. Why don't you grab a few of your Star Wars figures to play with at Mason's?”