46 Hours To Home

by Pat Riot

  As Rob sat there something started bothering him but he couldn’t put his finger on it. As he enjoyed the aurora it suddenly hit him. It was so quiet. Riverside was a city of almost 350,000 people and one of the main streets through this area of the city ran right in front of the dispatch center. Normally they could hear cars and trucks passing by at all times of the day and night. March Air Reserve base was close by, and even Ontario International Airport was only 15 or 20 miles away, so the sound of large jets was normal to hear. But now the only thing Rob could hear was the sound of a few crickets. It was nice, but also a little strange.

  As he waited, Rob tried to think about his route home. The best thing he could think to do was walk east on Alessandro Boulevard to the I-215 freeway; walk north on the I-215 for a couple miles until it merged with State Highway 60; take Highway 60 east through Moreno Valley until he reached the eastern edge of the city and could cut through to San Timoteo Canyon; take the canyon through to Yucaipa and he would be home free. Rob believed his biggest challenge would be getting through Moreno Valley. He would enter that city when he transitioned onto Highway 60 and had to walk nine or ten miles before he came out on the other side.

  The problem with Moreno Valley was that it had a high crime rate. Due to its location in southern California, its easy access to the freeways that ran through it, and lots of low income housing and projects, there was a large drug and gang problem there. Rob knew that there were a lot of hard working law-abiding citizens that lived and worked in Moreno Valley, but the gangs caused all sorts of issues. The 9-1-1 calls for shootings, stabbings, armed robberies, and other violent crimes were a daily occurrence. There was no getting around it, there were a lot of bad people in that city that would not hesitate to target Rob for no other reason other than they wanted the supplies he carried in his backpack. The good news was the time that the EMP occurred. Due to being so late at night, and a Monday night, there would not have been much traffic out. Walking through the city at night, Rob could pretty much bet that anyone out and about would probably be part of the criminal element that plagued Moreno Valley. And using the freeway as much as possible he hoped to stay out of any trouble.

  Rob wasn’t sure how much time passed, but it couldn’t have been long, when he heard a group of people approaching. He waited for the eight dispatchers that were hiking home to arrive at the back of the truck before he sat up. “Okay, first before we leave, which direction does everyone live? I live in Yucaipa, so I’m headed east. Jason you still live on the other side of Riverside?”

  “Yeah, over near Arlington and Tyler,” Jason replied.

  The next person to speak was Ashley Thompson, a twenty-year-old white girl who loved the outdoors, “I live in Woodcrest, just a few miles from here.”

  “Okay you’re headed south then, anyone else live that direction?” Rob asked the group.

  Only one person did. Heather Barnes, an older lady who everyone seen as the dispatch mom and was a few years short of retiring. Four of the remaining six lived closer to the middle of Riverside. The fifth was Jeremy Huff, a thirty-two-year-old white man who lived in Lake Elsinore.

  “Geez,” Rob responded. “You got a long ways to go. You know which way you’re going to head?”

  “I’m thinking heading south with Ashley and Heather then after they get home going through the Lake Matthews area. Maybe try to cut through the hills from there. Otherwise I have to go all the way around and maybe through Canyon Lake, that’s way outta my way. I just hope I don’t get lost in the hills.”

  “Yeah that plan sounds as good as any,” this came from Jason. “At least all those areas for the most part are a little more rural, so you won’t have to worry about people as much. Not like us that have to go through Riverside. Just remember sun rises in the east sets in the west. It can help you stay on a southerly course.”

  “That just leaves Rachel. Where do you live?” Rob asked.

  “Moreno valley, on the south end of the city,” She replied.

  “Okay I guess we are walking together then. I have to head through Moreno Valley to get to San Timoteo Canyon anyways.” He then addressed the whole group, “Listen close everyone. Keep an eye out, watch your back, watch your friends back, don’t hesitate to run or fight. Soon people are going to realize that because there are no working cars, that also means there are no working cop cars. They’ll realize the police aren’t going to be coming to any calls for help, even if they could be called. People are going to start going crazy. Looting, raping, killing, you name it, it’s going to happen. If you have a weapon you need to carry it, if you don’t you need to find one. Even something as simple as a tire iron is better than nothing. And don’t hesitate to use it if you need to. Remember, other than those you can trust, you are on your own once you leave this center. Good luck to all of you, I hope you all make it home safe and find your families waiting for you.”

  “You remember where I live?” Rob addressed Jason directly. A couple months prior Rob had a small get together at his house to celebrate Jason’s promotion to supervisor and before that Jason had visited several times to watch sports and hang out with Rob.

  “Yeah I remember.”

  “Well, if for some reason you find that you can’t stay at your place and need to leave, you are more than welcome to head to Yucaipa.” Rob shook his hand. “Godspeed buddy, I hope we survive this.”

  “Me too,” Jason replied. “Thanks for the offer, I might have to take you up on that. Good luck you uncivilized swine,” he said with a smile. “Stay safe and make it home to your family.”

  With that, Jason turned and started walking through the parking lot followed by the dispatchers that were headed east and south. As they left Rob gave each one a hug and wished them good luck. He was happy to see several of them make a last stop at their cars to get anything they could use as a weapon before running to catch up with Jason. He could see several carrying tire irons, one carrying a bat, and even one carrying what looked like a two-foot long metal pole.

  Rob turned to Rachel, “You grabbed some water and protein bars, right?”

  She held up a purple over the shoulder messenger bag with flowers on it, “Got them in here.”

  Rob was pleased to see she had changed into jeans and running shoes. She was also wearing a green sweater that unfortunately had the logo of the agency on the front. Oh well, nothing we can do about that right now. I don’t have one to give her that doesn’t have it, Rob thought. “You have any weapons?”

  “Yes,” she relied somewhat sheepishly. She pulled an ASP, a collapsible baton, from the bag.

  “Where the hell did you get that?” Rob asked her.

  “It was in one of the open lockers inside. I think one of the investigators that use our locker room accidently left it open. I figured she couldn’t use it right now, so I took it.” Explained Rachel.

  “Good thinking,” Rob said with a smile. “Just keep it handy in case you need it. You know how it works?” When Rachel shook her head no he held out his hand, “Let me have it and I’ll show you the basics.” He took a few minutes and showed her how to expand the ASP by swinging her arm and flicking her wrist, and how to collapse it down by tapping it on the ground. “If you have to use it you don’t need to have it expanded when you first swing it. It should expand no problem when you go to hit someone. You can also use it to break windows if you need.” Rob let her expand and collapse it several times to get a feel for the impact weapon. Rachel was half Mexican and half Panamanian, short at about five foot two Rob would guess, but he wasn’t going to ask, and in good shape. She would have no problem walking the distance to her house. “Last thing. Did you get a flashlight from inside?”

  “No,” Rachel said while shaking her head. “I didn’t think of that. I can run back in real quick.”

  “Here take this one,” Rob replied as he picked up and handed her the one he was going to leave behind.

  Rob looked at his watch. 1:15 am. Time to go. He shouldered his backpack and
walked through the parking lot with Rachel following him. They went around to the front of the building, into the front parking lot, and through the pedestrian gate. He held it open long enough for Rachel to pass through, made sure the gate closed and latched behind them, then they walked down the long sloping driveway to Alessandro, the main street that ran in front of the communications center. At the end of the driveway Rob paused, took one last look at the large cinder block building he called his home away from home for the past 8 years, then turned and started walking east.

  Chapter 3

  Alessandro Boulevard was a wide street with three lanes running both directions and a large well landscaped center median. Rob and Rachel walked near the right curb line through the semi darkness. The sky was still alight with the aurora and it was as bright as if there was a full moon out. Rob was grateful as it made being able to see hazards much easier. The downside was that others could spot Rob and Rachel easier as well. As the street made a long sweeping left hand turn that put it on a true east west line Rob noticed Rachel was staring at the sky. “You ever see anything like it?” he asked.

  “When I was a teenager my family went on a summer cruise to Alaska. One of those ones that go to the glaciers and what not. On the very last night before we got to our last port we saw the aurora. But it definitely wasn’t as bright as it is now. I thought it was amazing back then, but tonight makes that look mediocre in comparison.” Rob could hear the wonder in her voice.

  They continued to walk in silence, passing Trautwein Road and entering a mixture of commercial and residential area. On the south side of the street was a large shopping center that stretched several blocks along Alessandro. In the shopping center there was a movie theater, several fast food places, restaurants, and grocery stores. There were only a few cars in the parking lot that Rob could see, and he figured they belonged to the few employees tasked with overnight stocking of shelves or cleaning of the businesses. Employees who, like Rob and Rachel, were at work going about their normal everyday lives when everything changed drastically in the blink of an eye. Rob wondered if any of the employees had any clue of what was really going on or thought it was just another power outage.

  The first people they encountered were at a Shell Gas station they reached when they were about halfway past the shopping center. The gas station had a line of six pumps, making for a total of twelve positions where one could refuel their vehicle, a propane refill station with a large tank, a water and air station, and a large convenience store with glass windows that covered the front. There were two men standing on the sidewalk staring at the sky. One was white and, Rob guessed, about six feet four and around 300 pounds. He’s a big boy, Rob thought. The other was an average sized black man wearing the black with red and yellow trim uniform of a Shell Gas station employee. Rob recognized him immediately. Because dispatch was a twenty-four-hour operation the dispatchers tended to get to know the few people who worked night shifts at the handful of nearby twenty-four-hour businesses.

  “Hey Carl, what’s up dude?” Rob asked.

  “Nothing much Rob. Hi Rachel. Just trying to figure out what’s causing this light. It’s crazy!” Carl’s voice was a mixture of excitement and bewilderment.

  “Hi Carl,” Rachel said with a quick wave.

  “Yeah, I’ve never seen anything like it. You lost all power inside too?” even though it was obvious, Rob was leading up to his next question.

  “Yeah man, even the little generator we’re supposed to use to run the pumps when the power goes out so we can still sell gas won’t start.”

  “Gotcha. You try your car yet?” Rob knew Carl drove an early eighties Toyota four door and was curious if it still ran.

  “It died when I was pulling into that spot around back. I was supposed to start at midnight but class let out early and I got here early.” From previous conversations Rob knew Carl was taking night classes at one of the local colleges, studying to be a hydro-engineer. “I was parking when my car died, and I watched the power go out at the same time. Its strange man. I can understand the power outage and my old bucket of a car breaking down, but both at the same exact time, plus these lights in the sky? Feels like the end of the world almost.”

  “Yeah I hear you, it just might be. Alright man, we’re gonna get going again, we have a long way to walk. You take care of yourself Carl,” Rob gave a nod to the large white guy who had yet to say anything as he started to turn away. Rob received a respectful nod in return.

  “You guys too,” Carl said.

  “Bye guys,” Rachel said quietly before following Rob.

  With a sigh, Rob continued walking with Rachel next to him. He hoped Carl was going to be okay. He was a nice guy who was always polite and friendly anytime Rob or any other dispatcher stopped into the gas station for snacks or anything else that helped them get through their long shifts. As they continued down Alessandro Rob moved from the sidewalk into the street and moved closer to the center island with Rachel close by. He could see the puzzled look on her face, so he explained. “Once we pass the shopping center there’s that big apartment complex on the right side; on the left is that huge property that belongs to the water district. That property has a large fence with razor wire on top. Chances are anyone we come across is going to be on the right side closer to the apartments, and as much as possible I want to avoid contact. The less contact we have with people, the lower the chances of getting into an altercation with someone.”

  “Okay, that makes sense. Let’s hope it works and nothing crazy happens,” Rachel said.

  They soon left the shopping center behind and now on the left was a water treatment plant situated on a large piece of property closed off with a ten-foot rod iron fence topped with razor wire. On the right was a large three-story apartment complex with an eight-foot rod iron fence surrounding the buildings and gates blocking access to the driveways. Rob could see a dark colored sedan stopped on the eastbound side of the road in the middle lane. When they were within two hundred feet of the car he said in a low voice, “Let’s cross to the other side of the street.” Rachel followed him across the foliage and into the westbound lanes. Due to nature’s lightshow in the sky, it was bright enough that as they came even with the car he could see someone sitting in the driver seat staring at him and Rachel. He also noticed several of the balconies in the apartment complex were occupied, presumably by residents who were awakened by the bright aurora or the explosion created by the plane. Or both.

  As they walked Rob kept scanning, turning his head slowly left and right looking for potential threats, and every few minutes turning around and walking backward for a few feet while he took a good look to make sure they weren’t being followed. He especially watched the person in the car and the people on the balconies, making sure no one was going to try to do anything that would threaten Rachel and himself. Rachel realized what Rob was doing and was soon looking around as much as possible. “Let me know right away if you see something,” he told her.

  “Like what?” she asked.

  “Anything that looks out of place, especially people, but even dogs and stopped cars. If you aren’t sure about what you see tell me. Better safe than sorry.” Rachel nodded her understanding. At Barton Street the water treatment property on the left and the apartment complex on the right ended and new properties began as they crossed the intersection. Now on the left was a storage facility, and behind that was Sycamore Canyon Wilderness Park. It was a huge wilderness area covering almost 1,500 acres and had numerous hiking trails running through it. On the right was a small strip mall with a liquor store and several mom and pop shops with a residential neighborhood behind the businesses. The strip mall was dark, of course, but Rob also did not see any candle light or flashlights being used. As far as he could remember none of the stores were twenty-four hours and most likely closed.

  As they made progress along Alessandro Rob was thinking about what was ahead and what types of issues they might run into. “Rachel, this wilderness park
isn’t fenced off or secured in any way and there’s a large transient camp just off the road. Because the way the land drops down just off the roadway, and all the trees and brush, most people don’t know it’s there, but there are a few dozen transients that live down there. Keep your eyes and ears open. If you see or hear anything out of the ordinary let me know right away.” Once again Rachel nodded but didn’t say anything.

  About a half mile after they crossed Barton Rachel got Rob’s attention and pointed to their left into the wildlife preserve, “Hey check it out.”

  Rob had been walking backwards checking what was behind them. He quickly turned and could see what she was pointing at. A glow through the trees. Soon they could also hear voices, but due to all the trees and bushes blocking their view, they couldn’t get a good enough view. “Looks like a camp fire with five or six people, and they sound very drunk. At least someone is having a good time,” Rob said while chuckling. They could hear a couple people singing and several others laughing and cheering them on.

  “They for sure are, maybe they will let us join them for karaoke night,” Rachel joked, also laughing.

  “Hopefully they don’t catch their camp on fire; there is no one coming to help them if they do,” Rob added.

  They fell quiet once again as they walked, both pondering what life was going to be like, not just over the next few days, but the next few months and years. It was only a few hours since the power first went out, but in some ways if felt like a lifetime. In just that short time their lives had changed dramatically, and both were sure they would change even more before everything was said and done. In the blink of an eye they both went from dispatchers answering phone calls and working radio channels to survivors who were just trying to make it home to their families. Before, they were the ones answering 9-1-1 calls and sending people help. Now, they couldn’t contact help for themselves even if their lives depended on it. It was a sobering and terrifying thought, but Rob used that fear to focus his attention on accomplishing his mission of getting home to his family.