by T. L. Payne
“What about the other five nuclear power plants? Specifically, the four near here?” Emergency Manager for Bloomington asked.
“I have been assured that operations are being shut down at this time. When their generators begin to run low on diesel, they’ll switch the cooling tower pumps to solar power. They’re testing that system now. I should receive a report from them by tomorrow. We’ll continue to monitor the situation. They have assured me that there isn’t any threat of meltdown. Everyone will be provided with potassium iodide tablets, but we do not anticipate any issues with the reactors.”
Wilms’ assistant hung a chart on an easel before taking a seat next to her.
After an hour of discussing duties and logistics, Wilms dismissed the group. Aims was the first to head to the door. He’d spent the better part of his career in governmental meetings. It was the one the few things they did well. They even conducted meetings to discuss how to have a meeting.
Aims headed straight for the Department of Homeland Security tent. The DHS team was huddled over a map spread out on a long table. Areas were circled in differently colored highlighter. As a regional operating center, they were responsible for six states. Aims only saw two other state officials present.
He was shocked to see General Walter Dempsey seated beside his deputy director, Samone Perez. He had been told Dempsey was in D.C. at the time of the event. Perez was the only member of the group to acknowledge Aims. The others barely raised their eyes from the map.
“We have secured the all the major commercial ports except for the Port of Detroit. The rail yards have been a challenge due to their proximity to heavily populated areas. They remain a priority mission. Transit is working to get trucks there to offload supplies as fast as possible and minimize loss,” the DHS official said.
After the status briefing, Aims cornered Perez before she could leave.
“What’s up?” he asked, pointing to the general.
At first, she tried to dodge his question, but he grabbed her by the arm and moved her away from the exiting group.
“Tell me, Perez. I know you know something.”
Perez looked over her shoulder before answering.
“He received an intelligence report prior to his scheduled flight. That is all I can tell you, Aims.”
“Oh hell, Perez, stop being cryptic. You know you are going to tell me, either here and now or in bed tonight. So, spill it.”
Perez glared at Aims.
As her superior, he should have been the one with all the answers. But to his chagrin, she was the one having an affair with a top intelligence official. She had gladly shared her secrets before the event. Her unwillingness now led him to believe that she either did not know much or she was using it for leverage with the folks at the top of the new government.
She hesitated.
He squeezed her arm tighter.
“Not here, I will tell you everything I know tonight.”
She gave him a coy smile before jerking her arm away. He watched her walk out of the tent before he approached the DHS field officer. Being in charge of logistics, he needed to coordinate the use of vehicles and personnel. With over half of their fleet of stockpiled buses inoperable, they had been forced to pull assets from the relief effort to transport personnel to secure critical infrastructure. That did not sit well with the local jurisdictions.
“What is this about us housing refugees from the shelters that are closing?” Aims asked the field officer.
“Those guys down there in Decatur think we have time to conduct background checks on disgruntled citizens. For the life of me I do not know why Wilms allowed it. We have enough on our hands without babysitting rowdy citizens.”
“I agree. That is why I am not buying it. Wilms is too sharp to allow resources to be wasted that way. You said they had been designated troublemakers. Were they designated troublemakers before or after the event?” Aims asked.
The field officer shrugged before picking up his belongings and exiting the tent. Aims stared down at the map. Illinois, Indiana, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Michigan, and Ohio were depicted. Some cities were circled in black with X’s marked through them, including Chicago, Detroit and Milwaukee. Indianapolis stood out as it was the only city on the entire map with a green circle. Aims took that to mean only one large metropolitan area had been secured four days after the event.
How long before we lose control of that city as well?
Chapter 27
Red Cross Disaster Shelter
Decatur Airport
Decatur, Illinois,
Event + 4 days
The lawnmower-like clatter of electric generators had drowned out most of the snoring and coughing in the troublemaker tent. A Red Cross volunteer came to lead the group to a large white tent where breakfast was being served. Zach sat with James and his son. Although the eggs were rubbery, the gravy was good and served to smother the bland taste, providing a semi-satisfying and filling breakfast. Bottles of hot sauce were provided and smothered lingering blandness as well. After days of peanut butter sandwiches at the church, the hot meal was nice.
After breakfast, the group had been allowed to spend the rest of the morning in a tent set up with tables, folding chairs, books, and board games. Zach had not seen the guards since the night before. When they had been moved from tent to tent, he could not see the rest of the camp or even where within the camp they were.
“You want to play a game of Sorry with us?” James’ son asked.
“Sure,” Zach said, taking a seat across from James.
Zach wasn’t interested in playing board games. He needed information. He had a decision to make. He needed to know as much as possible about where they were so he could form a plan to get home.
Zach leaned in.
“James, did you hear the two men in the corner over there talking about being taken to a different shelter today?”
“Yeah, that Asian guy said he had been in the porta-john when he overheard some workers coordinating plans to take a group of us to another camp to meet up with the buses heading south.”
“You believe them? About meeting up with buses heading south, I mean?” Zach whispered.
“It makes sense that they would coordinate routes that way. Even the Greyhound buses have hubs where you go to be routed in different directions.”
“I guess. It’s just… I heard that FEMA had camps all over. It also makes sense that they would move all the troublemakers like us to a different camp. Maybe one a little more secure.”
“Where did you hear that?” asked James.
“YouTube.”
“I think you’ve listened to too many conspiracy theories.”
“Some of them seemed plausible.”
“You do know that a lot of that stuff has been debunked, right?” James said, a condescending look on his face.
“Yeah, I know some of it has, but there is a little truth in everything, right?”
“I don’t see where we have a lot of choice but to comply and go where they tell us at this point. You see what resisting got us.”
“That is what I don’t like about all this. How come they have the right to detain us like this? They take our stuff and won’t let us leave. That is not American. We haven’t had any due process. What about illegal search and seizure?” Zach asked.
“It is all different when there is a national emergency declared. Our nation has been attacked, and I am sure they are working to sort it all out. I am grateful to be here rather than out there on the interstate without food and water. Before we came here, we saw people being robbed at the exit where we were.”
“If I had left when all this happened, I’d be home by now. I bet I still could get myself home faster than these people can if they would just give me my pack back.” Zach leaned back in his chair and crossed his arms across his chest.
James chuffed through his nose.
“I was once full of piss and vinegar like you, so I understand you think that’s the cas
e, but it’s not the same world it was a week ago. I imagine by now, it’s even less so. You’re better off just being patient and allowing them time to get everything worked out. They’ll get us all home, eventually. Though, I am not sure what home will look like now. Six days without electricity, all the food in my fridge and freezer will be spoiled. I’m not sure I will even have running water at my house.
“It will probably be dangerous in the cities. With no food delivery to the stores, people will be looting houses by now,” Zach said.
James looked to his son.
“Oh. I had not thought of that. We had trouble with people breaking into houses before all this. Now that I think about it, I’m not sure I’d want to return home. Sounds like my boy and me are better off right here until this mess is over.”
Neither of them spoke for several minutes. James’ son set up the board game and smiled, eager to play. Zach went through the motions of playing the game, but he was distracted by thoughts of his own home. Being a suburb of St. Louis, Missouri, it had likely already become a fight to survive the theft and looting there. With the EMP hitting during the work day, most of Clarkson Valley’s residents would have been at work, leaving many houses empty. Zach thought of his stepdad, Jason. He had stayed home while his mother and sister had traveled to California to care for his grandmother.
Jason’s dental practice was located in the neighboring town of Chesterfield. He had probably walked home, but he was ill-equipped to defend their house from invading criminals. Unlike his dad, Jason did not like guns and did not know how to use them. His mother had insisted on keeping theirs when they moved in with Jason after the wedding, but he made them keep them in a gun safe in the basement. Zach wasn’t sure he even knew the combination. The safe was a top-of-the-line model, bolted to the concrete floor, so there was a high probability that the guns would still be there when he got home. What food stores and preps they had brought with them from their old house would likely have been taken by now.
“Where did you say your parents were?” James asked, breaking the silence.
“My mom is at my Grand and Grandpa Frank’s house in San Diego. My sister was in the airport in Chicago when this hit.”
“Oh man. You must be worried for her.”
“I am. But I’m not as worried for my mom. She has lots of prepared people we know out there. But my sister is alone in that huge city. I just hope she remembers what our dad taught us and has left the city already.”
“That would be dangerous for a girl alone. She would probably be safer staying in the airport until the Red Cross or someone comes for them.”
“If she is smart, she got out of there before it got crazy. I am hoping she remembered the way to my dad’s friend’s farm just west of Chicago. He can keep her safe and get her home.”
“I bet she did just that. She’s probably sitting at home right now. You have to think positive. I bet the Red Cross and FEMA are working on getting your mom home soon too.”
“Could be.”
After all he had learned about the government’s ability to ‘help’ in disaster situations, Zach doubted it. Their responses to past hurricanes and flooding had made that clear. Zach knew it was likely that the whole nation had been crippled by the EMP. Emergency services and disaster relief agencies would be overwhelmed and be running on reduced staff due to lack of transportation and communications.
Most of the country would be on their own, likely for a very long time, he thought.
The three of them passed the time playing board games and cards. After lunch the group lined up to return to the recreation tent. A man and a woman with clipboards stood at the entrance. After they asked his name, Zach was led to another tent at the end of a long row of tents. He could see several buses parked nearby. He was directed to stand in another long line. He watched as people proceeded through the line, one-by-one, then onto a bus. When Zach reached the head of the line, a man with a clipboard ask for his name. The man flipped through pages and checked it off, then handed Zach a card with a bus number written on it.
“I came here with my high school class. Can you look and see if they have left already?” Zach asked.
The man flipped through his pages again.
“They left yesterday,” he said, motioning for the next in line to move forward.
Zach was led to the second of three buses. Before getting on, Zach asked, “What about my backpack? Am I going to get that back?”
“All personal belongings have already been loaded,” said another man with a clipboard.
“My inventory shows that you had one bag, and it has been loaded on this bus.”
The man on the other side of him motioned for Zach to board the bus. As he boarded the bus and walked down the aisle to find a seat, he passed the marine from the church. They both gave a slight nod of mutual acknowledgment as Zach proceeded to the back of the bus and took a seat.
All the buses pulled up to a double gate. Zach watched as two buses turn left and then his bus turn right and head north to Interstate 55.
The bus rolled through a few small towns. Zach tried to memorize the names in case he got a chance to get off and away from the bus. As the bus drove past Pontiac, it exited the interstate onto a county road. As they drove through the town of Ransom, a crowd from a convenience store stepped into the road, causing the driver to swerve.
Zach and his fellow passengers were tossed around in their seats. Some fell to the floor. Zach stood and reached his hand down to help a middle-aged woman get up and back to her seat. Zach looked up just in time to see a large box truck racing toward them. He dropped back into his seat and braced himself for impact. As they reached the middle of the intersection, the truck T-boned them. The bus rolled onto its side and skidded to a stop against a concrete lane barrier.
Zach was pinned between the window and a large man. With all his strength he managed to pull himself out from under the man. Injured passengers lay in heaps on top of the side windows inside the bus. Bodies were wrapped around seat backs. He could tell they were badly injured with broken bones and head wounds. He reached down and pulled the handle on the back door. Jumping to the ground, he helped pull a mother and child out of the bus, followed by a middle-aged man.
He counted six walking wounded in total. The majority of the passengers were severely injured and unable to get out of the bus by themselves. Zach ran over to the box truck. It lay on its side in a parking lot, smoke billowing from its crushed front end. The driver lay unconscious or dead in the street. Zach ran over to the man. He knelt down to check for a pulse. He hesitated. There was so much blood. The driver’s eyes were open. He was bleeding from mouth, nose, eyes, and ears. Zach reached down and placed two fingers on the man’s neck. He didn’t detect a pulse. He pulled his hand back and stood. He stared at the blood on his fingers then wiped it on his jeans.
People ran out of nearby houses and businesses. Zach helped a mother wrap a torn T-shirt around her son’s injured arm and leg.
“My other son is still on the bus. Can you stay with him while I go—?” she asked.
“Go, go, I’ve got this. Yell if you need help,” Zach called after her.
It was quieter than Zach thought it should be. At first, there was screaming and yelling in the immediate aftermath. But now there were only low moans coming from the bus. After what seemed to be an eternity, a police officer and some type of medical personnel arrived. When the mother did not return, Zach asked a woman nearby to sit with the young boy. He found the mother rocking an older boy in her arms. He didn’t appear to be alive.
Zach helped remove passengers from the bus and laid them in a parking lot where a makeshift triage had been set up. The deceased were left on the bus, including the bus driver and his partner, the only Red Cross officials on the bus.
Zach walked up and down the two short rows of survivors. There were so few. He expected there to be more. Maybe if there had been a functioning hospital, more would have survived. Just a week ago, an am
bulance would have transported the injured to a local emergency room. They would have been triaged and those requiring lifesaving treatment would have been flown to a trauma center. The ones who received treatment before the golden hour was over may have lived.
As he walked by looking for the boy he had helped, an arm reached out and grabbed hold of his pants leg.
“You should do it now.”
Stopping suddenly, Zach looked down. It was the marine from the church. His head was bandaged as well as his arm and both legs.
“I’m sorry, what did you say?” Zach asked.
The man motioned for Zach to lean down. Zach took a knee beside the man.
“You need to see if you can get your pack and get out of here before they send reinforcements,” the man said in a low voice.
Zach had not thought about taking the opportunity to escape. His gaze went from the man to the bus.
“There is nothing you can do for anyone here. You go and find your family.”
“I’m not really sure where we are. Without a map I might end up in Kansas or Indiana before I realized I went the wrong way.
“You need to get to the interstate. It runs north to south. You can figure out directions, can’t you?”
“Yeah.”
“We just went past Pontiac. If you go back the way we came on this road, you will run right into Interstate 55. Where is home?”
“Missouri. St. Louis, Missouri.”
“Take this road to the interstate and follow it south. It runs right into St. Louis.”
“How far are we from Chicago, do you think?”
“About a hundred miles or so. You don’t want to go there. That is the opposite direction from St. Louis,” the man said, resting his hand on his bandaged head to shield his eyes from the sun.
“I know. It’s just —"
He paused.
“It is just that my sister was in the airport in Chicago when the lights went out.”
“Listen to me, kid. You do not want to go anywhere near the city. It will be total chaos by now. Your sister probably got picked up by FEMA like we did. In that case, you won’t find her in Chicago. They will have locked that city down by now just to contain the situation.”
