BEYOND THE GRID: An EMP Survival story

by Connor Mccoy

  The footsteps grew louder. Jacob fled to the back of the pharmacy, along the row of refrigerator doors. The men were not in this wing of the store, but they soon would be. Jacob looked for a door, a place that might lead to a back entrance. There was a booth where a pharmacist could fill out prescriptions, but it also was well exposed. The men surely would spot him if he tried ducking behind the booth. If there was an exit on the other side, he might not find it in time.

  His hand flopped against one of the refrigerator door handles. He jiggled it. A stale odor wafted through the crack of the door. With the power out, all of the milk and anything perishable was going bad.

  Jacob wanted to move away from the door, but then something occurred to him. When the employees stock this pharmacy’s refrigerators, they do so from the other side. There must be a room beyond the fridge shelves. And if there was a room, perhaps there was also an entrance out of here!

  The footsteps and chatter continued approaching. Jacob had to act fast. Swiftly, he picked out a fridge that contained the fewest number of shelves—just some frozen dinners. After whipping open the door, he pushed hard on the shelves, jostling them a little. Then he kicked furiously. A few slams of his boot broke the shelves loose and opened up a gap big enough for him to fit in.

  “Hey, I heard something!” called out one of the men.

  Jacob did not stick around. He was in and through in seconds. His handiwork deposited him into a gray room that ordinarily would be refrigerated. It also stunk like hell. Waves of spoiled meat and dairy products assaulted his nostrils.

  The door, the door, where’s the door out of here?

  Jacob ran to the back wall and felt along it. The lack of light made this place a nightmare to find anything. He searched for anything, a door handle, a crease in the wall, a door hinge…

  Rapid rumblings from behind the doors broke his concentration. The men had tracked his noise to the refrigerator doors. With the ocean of darkness in here, it was unlikely they could spot him, but one of them was sure to spot the door where he had kicked out the shelves. If they got wise to his move, they would flood this room very soon.

  What if I messed up? What if they really do stock this room from inside the store itself? I may have just trapped myself like a rat!

  “Where the hell did he go?” Shouted the second man Jacob had heard. They were very close.

  “Is he in there?” asked the third man.

  “Don’t be stupid. How the hell did he get into there?” the second man questioned.

  Ignore them. Find the exit. It’s your only chance.

  He resumed feeling along the wall.

  C’mon, c’mon…

  His fingers grazed a crack. He ran his hand up and bumped against a door hinge. Found it!

  “Look, just open it up and throw that shit aside!” barked the third man Jacob had overheard. “I tell you, I think he’s in there.”

  Jacob grasped the door handle. He turned while praying it wasn’t locked.

  His hopes were not dashed. A turn was all it took to open the door to the open night air.

  He didn’t even take the time to case the outside. He simply ran out and shut the door behind him.

  The refrigerator room exit had deposited Jacob on the backside of the pharmacy. He stood under a small awning. There was a parking lot before him, empty, likely used for delivery trucks. Nobody was around. The mayor’s force had not thought to secure the back end of the pharmacy.

  That didn’t mean it would be smooth sailing from here, though. There was a street beyond, and a row of homes lay on the other side. Someone might spot him if he tried to cross over.

  I’ve got to try. They’re coming through just behind me. They’ll find the door and open it any moment.

  He sucked in a deep breath. Then, he ran.

  Domino, feeling exhausted, shuffled down the hall until she stopped near the open door of Doc Sam’s bedroom. Cowell’s backpack was lying on the floor, nestled against the wall, close to the bed. Looking at it irritated Domino. The pack was solid evidence of Cowell’s treachery. It had been an act of kindness that the social worker had spurned for whatever he got from the men who drove that delivery truck. It also was galling that he had left it in Doc Sam’s bedroom, of all places. Cowell must have figured the doctor would not spot in there until he had made his getaway.

  She knelt down over it. At least the supplies inside could be returned to better use. She would bring this to Doc Sam. Perhaps he would take it to Moses Travers. At least Moses would receive back his goods.

  Before she could pick it up, she spotted a small piece of paper sticking out of one of the zippers. After opening the compartment, she was able to take the paper out. Evidently, Cowell had left this paper intentionally for Domino to find.

  She unfolded it. Cowell had written a short message on the yellow notepad page.

  Thank you for your assistance through this difficult time. However, as I said, this is not my world. I cannot understand it any more than you could understand mine. So, I will have to find my own little pocket of safety.

  I wish you and your family well.

  Alexander Cowell

  Domino shook her head. It wasn’t an apology. Basically, it was a plea for understanding. He had left the bag in here hoping she would find it first.

  “Damn it, Cowell.” Domino stood up. She was sincere in wanting him to stay here in Trapp, to find help, to develop the skills he would need to survive. Who the hell did he hook up with in town? What did they tell him they could do for him in exchange for the stolen gas?

  “Doms, don’t give him a second thought.” It was time to close his chapter in the life of the Averys. She should spend her time worrying about her family, particularly Jacob. It was late outside. She feared for his safety. Where was he sleeping right now?

  Jacob brushed the last few leaves from his face. The bicycle was in sight. No one had disturbed it.

  He took a circular path to get back to this spot. After crossing the street, he fled between a set of houses, but was almost blocked by the thick bushes between them. It took some crawling to get underneath them and out onto an open street. Then he had to remember which direction he needed to go. If he took the wrong way, he would be leaving his bike behind, and he desperately needed it to get out of town.

  Fortunately, he was right on target. Once he hit the next intersection, he hung a left and clung to the shadows of the buildings to keep from being spotted.

  He mounted his bike. His new load weighed on him a little, but not enough to keep him from pedaling. He wouldn’t sleep in Middleburg tonight. He had to get out of here. If he could, he would ride back to Trapp. He might be a sleepless wreck when he reached his family, but at least he would be alive. That was all that mattered.

  He began his ride up the street.

  However, he did not get more than a few paces before the road was suddenly swarmed by a mob. He put on the brakes. What the hell?

  There had to be at least twenty of them. They had emerged from the other side of the street, from out of the shadows of the line of stores. One of the men stepped up. He was holding a wooden post. Another man used a lighter to spark a small flame on top of it, creating a torch.

  “Well, hello.” The torch man smiled. “We thought you’d show up sooner or later. We saw your bike and we figured you’d come back for it. That made it much easier than tearing up the pharmacy to find you.”

  Jacob cleared his throat. “The pharmacy? I-I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

  “You can drop the innocent boy act. You were in there.” The torch man looked over Jacob’s shoulder. “Looks like you got a pretty sweet haul, didn’t you?”

  Jacob backed up a step. How the hell could he get out of this? He was boxed in on all sides.

  One of the men pointed a rifle at him. “Any guns you got, knives, weapons, drop them now and step away.”

  Jacob tried pleading with these men again. “Listen, I don’t know what you want. I’m not here
to hurt anyone. My daughter, she…”

  A shot of pepper spray struck him from the left, cutting off his plea. He fell to the ground, his face, nose, and lungs on fire.

  “Do it!” yelled the torch man.

  Someone spiked his arm with a syringe. He was being drugged. In seconds, he lost consciousness.

  “Easy, easy. Can you hear me?”

  Jacob stirred. A man was standing over him. Jacob blinked his eyes. It was hard to discern the man’s features. He was short, with spiky short black hair that was graying around his ears. He tugged at a slightly oversized white coat as he looked over Jacob. “The fools. They didn’t need to give you that sedative.”

  Jacob groaned. “I feel like I need a whole gallon of coffee.”

  “I don’t think it’ll be that bad. Just rest a few minutes. You’ll perk up.”

  Jacob complied. Little by little, he returned to his senses. He soon got a better look at the man before him. He appeared to be of Asian descent, likely middle-aged. He also was tending to a table that contained a slew of medicine boxes.

  Could this guy be him? “Doctor Nguyen?”

  “In the flesh. I trust Sam sent you.”

  “Doc Sam! Yeah, he did. How did you know?”

  Nguyen held up the photograph Jacob had been carrying of Doc Sam and Nguyen. “They searched you thoroughly. I told them what this meant, and they gave it to me. Judging from the supplies in your bag, Sam must have done something for you, an operation perhaps.”

  “Not for me. My daughter. She was hurt. An arrow had got lodged in her arm. He took it out. I had to pay back what he used to help her.”

  “That’s Sam.” Nguyen strode closer to Jacob. “You must have gone to my home first. I apologize for not being there. I was ‘escorted’ here.” Nguyen frowned. “My office and all of the others were ransacked. The mayor’s office ordered the inventory brought here for security purposes.”

  “Where is here?” Jacob looked around the room.

  “The town hall,” Nguyen replied. “It’s the base of operations for the mayor and his men. When the lights went out, they moved quickly. They imposed a curfew and ordered stores to be emptied out. They made offers to men in the town to help in exchange for food and water. They knew those things were going to be hard to come by.”

  “You don’t sound as though you trust them,” Jacob said.

  “I’ve spent too much in the company of bullies and tyrants not to sense them when they’re nearby. By the way, your name?”

  “Jacob Avery.”

  No sooner had he finished introducing himself than he heard a knock at the door. “Doctor Nguyen! Is he awake? We hear voices in there.”

  “He is!” Nguyen shook his head. “They’re going to talk to you.”

  The door opened. Three men poured out. Nguyen quickly stepped aside as if he was avoiding a speeding car. Upon reaching Jacob, they seized him, hauling him to his feet.

  “He’s going to want to talk to you,” one of the men said.

  “He?” Jacob asked as he was dragged out of the room.

  At first Jacob thought “he” was the mayor of Middleburg. As it turned out, the true man pulling the strings was someone else. The actual mayor stood off to the side, nodding to a man wearing a black hood who was seated behind the mayor’s desk. Light was supplied by candles on the desk.

  Doctor Nguyen stood behind Jacob like a man at attention. “You are not needed, Doctor,” the hooded man said.

  “You injected my friend here with a sedative. I am concerned for his well-being. I prefer to remain and monitor him to make sure there are no serious aftereffects,” Nguyen said.

  “Don’t push your luck, Doctor,” the hooded man said before turning his attention to Jacob. “Anyway, you said your name was Jacob Avery and that you’re not from here. You came all this way just to rip off one of my pharmacies? You think I’m stupid?”

  “I verified the evidence. He was sent here by a good friend of mine,” Nguyen said.

  “Let him speak for himself,” barked the man in the hood.

  “It’s true.” Jacob squirmed in his seat. “I didn’t mean to steal your medicine, but I have to repay my doctor for helping my daughter. That’s all. I’m desperate.”

  “And it didn’t occur to you that we might need those supplies, seeing as how the lights are off for good? You think we’re going to get a new shipment any time soon?”

  “I know, I know,” Jacob said. “I don’t know what to tell you. Look, I care about your people too. I just didn’t have any choice. What do you want me to do? I’ll do anything if it lets me get back to my family with those supplies.”

  “Anything, huh?” the man in the hood asked. “Well, since you seem so willing, allow me to explain. I’m fortifying this town against the horrors to come. We’re less than a thousand people. A small town means we can hold it together, but we need supplies to sustain us. Since you’re willing to be a courier, perhaps you can put your services to work for us.”

  “You want me to get you something? What do you need? And where am I going?” Jacob asked.

  “I’ll give you the list. You won’t go alone. You and a small team will head to Pleasantville.”

  “Wait, Pleasantville?” Jacob jumped out of his seat.

  “It has what we need. You want to help? You will go. Then I’ll allow you to leave with your goods.”

  Jacob’s heart raced. Pleasantville, the very place he was trying to avoid?

  “You ask a lot of him,” said Nguyen sternly.

  “It is my choice. He will do it or no medicine. Even you must admit that it is a fair price,” the hooded man said.

  “For God’s sakes.” Nguyen strode up to the hooded man. “You are an efficient man, Trang, but compassion without efficiency is a mixture for brutality. Haven’t I taught you better?”

  The man under the hood scowled. “Hien…”

  “And take off that hood. Jacob should know who you are…who we are.”

  The man at the desk discarded his hood, revealing a middle-aged man of Asian descent, with features much like Doctor Nguyen’s. As the doctor turned, he smiled and pointed to the man beside him.

  “Allow me to present Trang Nguyen, the current potentate of the town of Middleburg…and my younger brother.”

  Find out what happens in part two! Coming Soon!

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