BEYOND THE GRID: An EMP Survival story

by Connor Mccoy

  His arm suddenly felt wet near the elbow. A water drop had hit his flesh. So, this area was about to receive rain after all. Jacob picked up the pace. He should try reaching cover if possible.

  The sporadic drops turned to a light drizzle, which progressed further into rain, though it never became heavy. However, by that time, Jacob had reached a place where a new line of trees paralleled the road. He could pull his bike off the road and set up a shelter.

  The large branches of a nearby tree provided a strong shield from most of the rain. As long as the weather did not worsen in the next few minutes, he should have enough time to set up his tent. He needed a break to eat and drink anyway, and the occasion of the weather provided a good opportunity to stop for a rest.

  After setting the bike against a tree, Jacob put down his get home bag. This bag was designed just as it was named, a way to sustain him if he should be caught away from home without a working automobile or any conventional mode of transportation. But it now had turned into a traveling bag that was meant to keep him going until he reached Middleburg and returned to Trapp. Although Doc Sam had offered to give him a bigger bag with more provisions, courtesy of Moses Travers, Jacob was satisfied that his current bag would do the trick. Besides, a lighter load made it easier for him to travel. If he carried a large backpack, he doubted he could have remained steady enough to ride the bicycle.

  Setting up the tent was easy. He chose a space between two trees and strung up a rope between them. Then he used the rope as a clothesline to hang his tarp.

  With a shelter in place, Jacob opened up his bag. It was built around the three cores of survival. His tent was part of the shelter core. Jacob fished out a canteen. The metal canister contained water, the second core. The third core was fire, but Jacob did not need or want to start a fire out here in the rain. He would have liked to cook one of his cans of soup, but that would have to wait. A nutritious energy bar and water would suffice.

  Jacob set down a small plastic bag to sit on. He had favored these as quick cushions to sit on while out in nature. He did not want to use cloths or towels unless he had to. If they got dirty from being placed on soil or on a surface with flowing rain water, Jacob would have to clean them off in a river and hang them up to dry. A plastic surface was easier to clean.

  After eating, Jacob pulled out his map and notepad. The pitter patter of rain drops did not disturb his concentration. It even had a charm to it. He could review his progress on the map up until now without any trouble. As he studied the map, he scribbled down every sign he had passed, whether it was a mile marker or a directional sign that marked how many miles it would be to Middleburg.

  Once he was satisfied that he recalled the very last sign he had passed, he looked on the map to see how much farther it would be to his destination. He worried that he had eaten up precious time looking for a bike. However, he found that his bike riding had returned much of that time to him. He would be right about here by now if he walked. So, his efforts were a wash so far. But that did not mean his bicycle couldn’t earn its keep. Even with the delay caused by the rain, he still could gain a few hours if the rain stopped fairly soon and he could resume his journey.

  Once he satisfied himself with that calculation, he relaxed. There was not much else to do but wait. However, he quickly grew antsy. What could he do?

  A book. I could have brought one along. I can’t believe I didn’t think about that. Doc Sam had some books in his home and probably would have loaned one to him for the journey.

  Left with little to do besides check the contents of his bag again, his thoughts drifted back to Domino and his family. He wondered how they were holding up in Trapp, and if Jubilee finally had woken up.

  Domino peered into the room once again. Brandon had finished wiping Jubilee’s face, and now he was drying it off with a clean washcloth. According to Brandon, Jubilee was shifting around in bed, having moved around a few times just in the past few hours. Doc Sam said she likely would awaken soon, and that Brandon and Domino should be ready.

  I wish she could stay asleep until Jay returns. But Domino preferred that Jubilee regain consciousness as soon as possible. Domino did not like the idea of telling Jubilee that her father had left, but she wanted her to be up, alert and able to eat and drink. Domino also dearly missed hearing her daughter’s voice. Seeing her asleep like this was as though she was here, but not really here.

  The sound of Doc Sam’s footsteps turned Domino’s head. The doctor approached from the front door. She had been so deep in thought that she had not heard him open and close the door.

  “Is your little girl still in dreamland?” he asked softly.

  “She is, but Brandon says she’s moving more,” Domino replied.

  “That’s good, that’s good. I figured her as a tough lady.” Doc Sam then nodded toward the living room. Domino took it as a cue to join him without summoning Brandon.

  Doc Sam waited until he reached the longest couch before he talked. “Just wanted you to keep your guard up. I had a chat with a neighbor on the way in. There was a break-in at a hardware store on Valley Street. With the electronics dead, the alarm system was shot. He broke open the back door and made off with some tools. Drake, a policeman, was out on patrol when he saw the man, told him to stop, and then squeezed off a shot. Now, Drake isn’t sure, but he thought this guy tried to shoot back. It was dark, so he couldn’t see well. But the man was about…” The doctor put out his hand to about the center of his temple. “…this high. He wore dark sweats, at least that’s what the witness thinks he wore. The clothes were kind of puffy. Probably clean-shaven, too.”

  Domino nodded. Not the kind of news she wanted to hear, but it probably should not be unexpected. Actually, she was a little surprised things were not worse.

  “Just wanted you to be on the lookout. Trapp’s police force still is hanging together, but they don’t have computers or phones or radios. Everything is word of mouth now, person to person. So, if the burglar shows up…”

  “We’ll have to deal with him.” Domino’s hand dropped to her right hip.

  Doc Sam followed her gaze. “Yeah, I see you’re carrying.”

  Domino looked down at her belt. A handgun lay holstered on the right side of her belt.

  “How long have you had it?” the doc asked.

  “A few years,” Domino replied. “I’ve had an everyday carry just about all of my adult life.”

  “Ever had to use it?” Doc Sam asked.

  “Practice,” Domino said.

  “But never on a person.”

  Domino stared at her weapon. “Not this one.”

  The doctor craned his head to look at Domino’s left side. “And that’s not the only one you’re sporting.”

  Domino turned her head left. The doctor had taken notice of the knife holstered on the left side of her belt. “Yeah, that too. Funny thing about a knife is you never have to reload it. I’ve learned how to use it, to fight with it.”

  “Fighting with knives is ugly as hell.” Doc Sam looked up at Domino, his eyes appearing a little sad. “I’ve seen what a sharp blade can do to a man. It’s nothing that you can forget.”

  “From when you served?” Domino asked.

  “That and my time helping people to set up communities. In southeast Asia, Doctor Nguyen and I came across victims of a Communist militia.” Doc Sam held up three fingers. “Three people without their heads. And the job was fresh. They were on their knees, hands tied behind their backs. Days after that, Nguyen decided to head back to the States.”

  “I’m sorry,” Domino said. “I guess I shouldn’t ask about your past.”

  “Don’t worry. The sad part is, all that time overseas probably has prepared me for the hell that came yesterday. A long stretch of life that made me what I am. It’s probably that way for all of us.”

  Domino folded her arms. “Sometimes. Sometimes it just takes one moment in time.”

  “Really?” Doc Sam smiled. “Happened that way with you
?”

  “It did. You’d never have known I was going to be…” She raised her right leg, showing off the holster that sheathed a second knife on her boot. “…well, who I am right now, if you met me when I was fourteen.”

  Doc Sam nodded. “I guess whatever happened sure changed your outlook on life. I guess you probably don’t want to talk about it, huh?”

  Domino put her foot down. “Not really. Sorry. It’s just too personal.”

  “That’s all right.” Doc Sam strolled around her toward the kitchen. “Some stories aren’t meant to be told to just anyone.”

  Domino watched the doctor walk into the kitchen. She felt somewhat guilty for holding back her tale when Doc Sam revealed something from his past, but she couldn’t bring herself to do it. The story was not an easy one to tell, not just because it was emotionally difficult, but Domino also felt that moment in time simply could not be put into spoken words. Or at the very least, she could not verbalize the impact of that moment.

  As Domino had told Doc Sam, there are moments that make a person who they are. For her, that moment arrived during a dance at her high school in her freshman year. The school was a fancy place for upper income families in the D.C. metro area to send their children. Domino had graduated from a junior high school that she liked a lot and believed the expansive high school would be even better.

  The dance was a fall event, hosted in late October of that year. Domino was dressed in an expensive light pink dress, puffed up with a single petticoat underneath. However, as the dance progressed, Domino thought the event was nothing to write home about. None of the guys there intrigued her. Some of the male students, however, did think something of her, for Domino spotted the wandering eyes of a couple of the guys every now and then.

  As the clock approached nine, Domino grew restless. The conversations were vacuous, and she had eaten from all the dishes she had wanted. She decided to text the man who her parents hired as her driver to have him come around to bring her home.

  So, she walked outside.

  Without warning, Robert Halleck, one of the school football team’s running backs, approached her. Domino’s neck was bathed with the putrid smell of alcohol. Halleck either had snuck in some booze or received some from friends on campus. With his curly red hair and freckled cheeks, Halleck was known as a charmer among Domino’s classmates. For her part, Domino didn’t think much of him.

  She thought even less of Halleck when he grabbed her skirt and yanked it up, exposing her underwear.

  Domino, enraged, yanked her garment back down while stomping on Halleck’s right foot. He screamed a profanity as he limped back a step.

  “Asshole!” Domino screamed at him.

  She turned and ran off, but Halleck suddenly broke into a run and caught up with her. He seized her by her arms and tried kissing her. She slapped him hard. Halleck, his eyes widening, threw her down to the grass.

  Domino’s hand knocked against a discarded glass soda bottle. It was within easy reach. As Halleck dropped down to his knees, Domino grabbed the bottle and smashed it against his head.

  Halleck, yelling in pain, braced the side of his head. Blood trickled down his face. Domino hit him three more times until he fell onto his back. Domino climbed to her feet and shouted for help.

  Her four smacks to Halleck’s head earned him a trip to the hospital. Domino’s parents soon arrived at the school to console her.

  Domino wanted action taken against Halleck. She waited and waited for any news on the matter.

  However, she didn’t receive any word back. Domino had not noticed anything had changed until she realized she had not spotted Halleck around school since the dance. Finally, she asked her parents if they knew anything. They replied that they just had learned that he had transferred to another school, but they did not know where.

  It took weeks for Domino to learn the details. Halleck quietly left the school and, supposedly, started attending an elite school in New York. Halleck was the nephew of a Maryland congressman, and the move was made so the congressman would not be embarrassed by the revelation that his nephew had tried to rape a high school freshman. Later, Domino learned some more details. Apparently, Congressman Halleck had taken up residence in Virginia and didn’t even own a home in Maryland. As Domino’s source pointed out, any elected official is in deep shit and ineligible to hold office, when the folks back home learn that their “representative” doesn’t even live among them any longer.

  So, Domino’s attacker had the good fortune to be part of a political family. He likely never would be confronted with this incident again unless Domino made a public spectacle of it, something her parents cautioned her against. Why put herself through that kind of humiliation? It was better to let the matter go.

  Domino knew she got lucky back then. She might not be so lucky again. She understood the strength disparity between a man and a woman would leave her at a major disadvantage if faced with another male attacker. What could equalize that disparity?

  A loaded gun, that’s what.

  When Domino first voiced the desire to carry around a firearm to her parents, they laughed it off. Why should she need a gun? In the kind of life she was to enjoy, at the opulent events and parties she would attend, she would enjoy armed protection. Besides, she lived in a safe neighborhood behind the walls of a gated community. She just was rattled by the incident. It would pass.

  However, Domino did not let go of her desire to carry a weapon. Her parents’ amusement grew to annoyance. Then, when she started investigating how to train in firearm use, her parents responded angrily. Their social circles were filled with people who supported gun restrictions. And their daughter wanted to own a gun? Not while she lived under their roof!

  Domino pointed out that at least half of their friends owned a gun, despite their support of gun control. That earned her a grounding for that night. Apparently, speaking against the hypocrisies of the elite was a punishable offense.

  Convincing her parents of her desire was a fool’s errand. She investigated firearm use and ownership anyway. As soon as she was old enough, she had started buying and training with her own guns. The 9mm she carried was actually the third gun she ever had purchased.

  That assault, that single moment in time, changed her life forever. It taught her that she could not always depend on the institutions of society to come to her rescue. The aftermath of Halleck’s attack only cemented that lesson.

  If she had had a gun on her that night, Halleck would not have made his escape to New York. In all likelihood, he would be dead, assuming he didn’t run away at the sight of the gun. Many bullies were cowards. When faced with real force, they back off.

  But not all of them.

  The breakdown of society would signal to thieves, rapists and anarchists all across this land that the time was right for them to unleash their hidden desires upon the world. With no police or military to stop them, they would steal, rape and kill with impunity.

  And Jacob’s out in the middle of it…

  Chapter Thirteen

  Jacob took down the shelter. The rain had lasted for a little more than an hour. Jacob had hesitated to remove his shelter covering and pack up until he was certain the rain had passed by, but as the sunlight increased, he felt confident he could begin his journey again.

  He let out a contented sigh. The rain had given him a chance to rest and eat, so he could approach the rest of the trip with renewed energy.

  Unfortunately, as he wheeled his bike back to the road, he discovered a new problem. The asphalt now was freshly wet. He would have to pedal on a watery road, causing havoc on the brakes. Also, puddles lay in places where the road sank, sloped or had small holes. He feared that if he rode through them, his bike’s front wheel would catch in a pothole and fling him over the handlebars onto the nearby grass or worse, onto the street itself.

  Those fears kept him from mounting his bicycle right away. Even when he rode a bike regularly years ago, he rarely pedaled on wet roads.
Generally, he did not travel very much during times of rain. He often stayed in one spot, whether to relax, do schoolwork, or hang with friends.

  But if I stay on foot, I won’t reach Middleburg before the sun goes down. Whether he liked it or not, he had to try.

  So, Jacob remounted his bike and started pedaling, though his pace remained slow. Would his wheels slip and slide? Would he skid off the road and into the grass? Fear kept him in the center of the road and at a relatively slow speed. By staying at the road’s highest point, he avoided puddles and water runoffs.

  After a while, Jacob’s apprehension started to fade. The lack of motorized traffic meant he could stay in the middle of the road without worry, and since this road led straight to Middleburg, he was spared major turns that might upset his balance.

  As his confidence grew, Jacob couldn’t help but feel amazed. He never thought up until last night that he would pedal from one town to another, to say anything about riding through a freshly rained-on road. Life had thrown challenge after challenge his way, and he had taken each one and adapted to it.

  But that’s how life has been, hasn’t it? That’s how you wanted it.

  Indeed, Jacob had decided on that course when he was eighteen. That was his seminal moment, the time that made him who he was. He was on the verge of graduating high school. Sheryl, four years older than him, had come visiting from medical school. She wanted Jacob to come with her to Pleasantville, where she was studying and would complete her work. She believed Jacob should go to college there and become an engineer.

  Sheryl cared for Jacob. She knew his life on the streets had been difficult and at times life-threatening. She imagined a new life for him, one that put him in coveralls working on a power transmission line and perhaps in time in a suit and a tie. She saw him as a smart, hardworking man who could achieve great things.

  At the same time, their mother was ill. She had been sickly since Jacob had been a high school junior. She was approaching sixty and never had been in robust health. Sheryl wanted to uproot her as well and take her to Pleasantville. They would be one big, happy family there.