46 Hours To Home

by Pat Riot

  Rob could now see that the dog looked like it was starving. While still a huge dog, he figured most of the dog’s bulk came from the fur. The dog was now standing on its hind legs with its front paws on the trunk of the car growling and barking. Rob holstered his gun, “Hey Rachel, let me borrow your ASP.” She handed it over without comment and watched as Rob slid down the windshield. The dog decided Rob was the easier target and ran over to the front of the car where it started trying to get to Rob. He took a good swing with the ASP and hit the dog in the shoulder. It immediately started whimpering and took off running north.

  “That was close, my heart is racing,” Rachel said, breathing hard and fast.

  “Mine too. Take deep slow breaths so you don’t hyperventilate.” Rachel realized how fast she was breathing, closed her eyes, and started taking slower deeper breaths. “Let’s wait a few minutes and see if it comes back. Hopefully I didn’t really hurt it and just scared it enough to not try again.”

  “Okay. I’m glad this car is here. I wonder if the owner decided to walk home like we are doing.”

  “Maybe,” Rob replied. “Just remember, this likely won’t be the worst situation we encounter. If the time comes to defend yourself, don’t hesitate and do whatever it takes to survive.” Rachel didn’t respond, but Rob could see she was thinking about what he said.

  They ended up waiting for five minutes before deciding it was safe to continue. After climbing down from the car and putting their bags back on, they walked the couple hundred feet to Cactus where they turned east. When they made the turn they both could see heavy smoke up ahead in the light provided by dancing lights in the sky. A few minutes later they reached the I-215 freeway and Rob used the overpass as a vantage point to look down the freeway in both directions. A few cars here and there, but otherwise nothing that caused him concern. It wasn’t until they reached the east side of the freeway and were even with the on and offramps that they could see what the smoke was coming from. A plane crash in the open field that was just south of Cactus and just north of the large runway at March Air Reserve base. That’s gotta be what we could see from the roof of dispatch, Rob thought. He took a few minutes to study the crash but could not see any movement. I wonder where the response is from March Fire. I know they won’t be able to drive their equipment, but you would think they would walk out here to check it. Or maybe they did and just left it to burn when they realized there was nothing they could do.

  Before starting to walk again Rob studied the smoke and could see that it was drifting north across Cactus, right in their path. He could see that the smoke started to thin out, but only after it was a few hundred feet north of the street. From his backpack he took out a Hoorag that had an American Flag printed on it and put it on. It was basically a combination scarf and bandana that was worn around the neck and could easily be pulled up around the face to act as a face shield. As he put it on he asked Rachel, “You have a scarf or something like that?” Rachel shook her head no so Rob dug back into his pack and pulled out a dark blue bandana. “Tie this around your face. We’ll try to avoid the smoke by swinging a little north around those businesses but just in case we end up breathing some in keep this on to help filter it some.”

  They walked north through the dirt area next to the freeway then across the onramp to the northbound I-215 and into a large open field. They continued in a northeasterly direction until they reached another street, the Old 215 Frontage Road. When they reached the road, they started to smell the unique burning odor created by the crashed plane. It was an acrid combination of burning plastic, oil, and jet fuel and confirmed Rob’s decision to avoid the smoke as much as possible. They walked north then turned right onto Day Street. This new street made an immediate left turn and ran north from where they were at. Just north of the intersection on the right was a large distribution warehouse.

  They walked north until they got to the second driveway for the warehouse which was usually utilized by the big rigs that picked up and dropped trailers. The first thing Rob noticed was the rod iron electrical powered gate was wide open. The second thing was the security guard wearing a white uniform shirt and black uniform pants standing in the middle of the driveway just before where the gate. “Let’s go over there and talk to this guy. I’m going to try to see if he’ll let us walk through his parking lot. It looks like the smoke is being blocked by the building and being able to cut through would save us a lot of time.”

  As Rob and Rachel approached the security guard Rob pulled the Hoorag off his face and down around his neck. “Hey man, how’s it going?” Rob said by way of greeting.

  “Pretty good, what can I do for you?” the guard responded sleepily. Rob could now see his name tag. Martinez. He was an average height Hispanic guy in his mid-twenties and significantly overweight. If Rob had to guess, he would put him around 250 pounds.

  “Did you see that plane come down?”

  “Nah, I didn’t see it, but I heard it. I was over at the other end of the lot doing my rounds when everything went black. At first, I figured just a power outage and I took my phone out to let my company know. I was trying to get my phone to work when I heard it crash. About made me piss my pants. I came over to the street where I could see it. Never seen anyone around it.”

  “Damn, that’s crazy. Hey question for you, we’re trying to walk home but wanted to avoid the smoke coming from that crash. We need to get down Cactus. You think you could let us cut through your lot here? We’ll be in and out, no stopping. You can even walk with us if you want.”

  The guard paused for a second to yawn before responding, “I don’t know man, I’m not supposed to let anyone on the property, especially with the power outage. The other gate is locked anyways so you couldn’t get through. That’s why I’m over here, it’s the only open gate on the property.”

  “I hear you, bro,” Rob said. “Promise, we won’t do anything except walk through. No stopping, no touching anything. And we’ll get over the wall on the other side no problem.”

  “Dang… Okay man, you two seem cool. Just don’t stop. I see you guys stop and I’m running over to pepper spray you, got it?” the guard said, trying to put some authority into his voice.

  “Yeah, no problem, no stopping at all. We’ll be gone before you know it,” Rob said, then thought to himself, this guy isn’t running very far, but whatever, as long as he lets us walk through. “Thanks man, we really appreciate it,” still being courteous. He didn’t want the guard to change his mind last second because Rob said something smart.

  “Thank you,” Rachel added.

  “No worries, just keep moving. I’ll see you guys around,” the security guard said.

  No, you won’t, Rob thought as he started walking with Rachel through the parking lot. They walked through the lot lined with trailers and big rigs on both sides. When they reached the end, they turned to the right and were at the closed gate that led to a driveway that in turn led out to a side street called Goldencrest Dr. Next to the wall Rob spotted a utility box of some sort that stood about four feet high and about a foot from the wall. He figured it might help them get over the eight-foot barrier standing in their way, so he walked over and checked it. It seemed sturdy enough.

  “Okay Rachel," he said. "This is what we are going to do. First, we’ll throw our bags over the gate, it’s lower than the wall so we don’t need to throw as high, then I’ll help you get onto this box. From there you get on top of the wall, I’ll stand in between the wall and the box and help you. Once you are up stay on top and I’ll make my way up with your help. Sound good?”

  “Yeah okay. I’m not strong enough to lift you though.”

  “You won’t need to lift me, if I need it just give me a hand making it onto the wall.”

  “Let’s do it then,” she agreed.

  They threw their bags over the gate then Rob helped Rachel onto the box and positioned himself between the box and the wall. “Think we can do it?” he asked.

  “Yeah I can act
ually see over the wall and it’s not as big a gap as I thought between the wall and the box.” She leaned over and placed her hands on top of the wall, then pushed up with Rob using his hands to push up on her shoes. She swung her leg up and over the top so that she was straddling it. Rob’s turn. He got on top of the box and mimicked Rachels movements. Once he was on top he took a moment to figure out their next move. In the still bright light of the aurora he could see some bushes on the other side, but right beneath where he was sitting was a gap in the bushes that created small open area right next to the wall.

  “I’m going to lower myself down as far as I can, then drop the rest of the way. When I’m down scoot over to where I am now, then lower yourself. I’ll help you the rest of the way.” Once Rachel gave Rob a nod to indicate she understood the plan, he turned and put his leg over, lowered himself so he was fully stretched out and only holding on with his hands, then let go. When he hit the ground, his knees bent and hit the wall. That frickin hurt. “Your turn,” he said to Rachel after taking a moment to recover.

  Rachel moved over then lowered herself down. Instead of letting her drop, Rob grabbed her hips and helped lower her to the ground, careful to keep her in a standing position so she wouldn’t also hurt her knees. “Thanks,” she said.

  “You got it,” Rob replied. “Let’s get our bags and keep moving. Once we are out of this smoke smell we need to find some place to take a quick rest. I gotta check my knees. I banged ‘em pretty good.” Once they were at the street they turned left and headed east on Goldencrest Drive. They reached Elsworth Street, and after crossing the intersection the smell dissipated to almost nothing. They still caught whiffs of it, but it was not as strong as before. On the right was another commercial building. The back side of the building faced Goldencrest so they circled around to the front and found a restaurant with tables and chairs outside.

  Rob sat down and checked his knees while Rachel acted as a lookout. He rolled up his pant legs and used his flashlight to inspect his injury. Both knees were red and starting to swell on top of the knee caps, but no cuts or road rash. Rob dug his first aid kit out and took out some ibuprofen. “Let’s take fifteen while we are here and rest. Hopefully this pain killer will kick in by then.” Rob had chosen ibuprofen for his get home bag not just for the pain killer aspect, but also because it was also an anti-inflammatory.

  They took their break in silence, eating some of the food they had taken from the gas station. By the time the fifteen minutes were up Rob had finished a bag of mixed nuts and used the water bottle from his bag to replace the liter he had drank from his water pouch while walking, then drank the rest of the water and put the bottle back into his bag to save for later.

  Rob was happy to see their little detour did in fact get them around the worst of the smoke and put his Hoorag and bandana back into his backpack. “Let’s get moving again. It’s 4:30, we have about two and a half hours before the sun comes up,” Rob said as he stood up and put his backpack on.

  “Your knees okay?” Rachel asked him.

  “Yeah, I’ll be fine. Not as bad as they could be, just a little swollen. The ibuprofen should help out.” They walked south through the parking lot and turned east when they reached the street. They were once again traveling on Cactus Avenue. Rob took a minute to study the street in both directions until he was satisfied there was no movement he could see in either direction, then they started walking. As they approached Frederick Street Rob could see an ambulance stopped on the south side of the street several feet away from the curb.

  “Hey, let’s check it out,” he said to Rachel. “If no one is inside maybe we can find something useful.” Rob didn’t say that he would be looking for narcotics, specifically Morphine or Dilaudid. They could be very useful if either of them were to be seriously injured. Too bad ambulances don’t usually carry anti-biotics. They first checked through the rear windows of the ambulance and found no one. They walked around the passenger side and found both front seats occupied. Both occupants were wearing uniforms that matched the logo on the side of the ambulance, so Rob figured they were the EMT and paramedic assigned to this rig when the EMP hit.

  Both appeared to be sleeping so Rob knocked softly on the passenger window, trying his best to wake them up without startling them. The passenger woke up first and almost panicked when she noticed Rob and Rachel looking at her through the window. After a few seconds she slapped her partner across the chest to wake him up, then opened the door to the ambulance and stepped out.

  “Can I help you?” she asked with trepidation. She was short, black, and had her hair tied up in a tight bun. Rob could see she was the paramedic which meant her partner that was now walking around the ambulance to join them was probably an EMT.

  “We saw your rig and wanted to make sure you guys were okay. What are you doing here?” Rob asked.

  “Well,” the paramedic said, drawing out the word, clearly irritated. “If you haven’t noticed, nothing is working, including our ambulance. That’s what we are doing here.”

  Rachel cut in before Rob could reply, “We know nothing is working. What he means is, what are you still doing here? As in why haven’t you left? This isn’t exactly the best area to be in during the day, let alone when it’s dark.”

  “What are we supposed to do?” the paramedic raised both hands, palms up. She was clearly becoming more and more annoyed, and her voice was becoming louder.

  “Umm walk maybe? Your legs still work,” Rachel said with her arms crossed while she glared at the paramedic. Rachel was also getting louder.

  The EMT, a Hispanic male in his thirties and around Rob’s size, was now standing next to Rob, with both of them watching the unfolding confrontation.

  “And leave the rig behind?” She slowly rolled her eyes to make sure Rachel and Rob could see how stupid she thought the conversation was. “With all the equipment and meds? You aren’t very bright are you? You’re outta your damn mind if you think we’re abandoning our rig. Someone like you would probably break in and steal everything,” Arms now crossed and almost yelling, the paramedic took a step towards Rachel. The EMT was watching and had an amused look on his face. Rob knew he needed to defuse the situation before it became physical.

  “Ladies!” Rob yelled. They both stopped and looked at him, Rachel with surprise on her face. “Hold up, listen,” Rob said, quieter now that he had their attention. “We got off on the wrong foot and I apologize. My name is Rob, this is Rachel. We work at the dispatch center in Riverside off Alessandro.”

  At this point the EMT realized what Rob was trying to do and decided to help out. “I’m Miguel, my partner is Jasmine.” He stuck out his hand and shook with Rob, then they both turned to the females, Rob holding his hand out to Jasmine, Miguel to Rachel. Both females waited a beat, then shook. They conspicuously did not shake each other’s hand. “Pretty crazy what’s going on, no?” Miguel added.

  “Yeah, end of the world stuff,” Rob replied.

  “What do you mean, end of the world?” Jasmine asked

  “You guys don’t have any idea of what’s really happening, do you?” Rob asked.

  Jasmine just scoffed, as if the idea Rob or Rachel would know anything she didn’t was ridiculous, but Miguel asked, “What’s really happening? What are you talking about?” He confirmed Rob’s suspicion that neither Jasmine nor Miguel had any idea of the seriousness of the situation they found themselves in. Rob could see he had Miguel’s rapt attention, and even though Jasmine was doing her best to appear as if the conversation was a waste of time Rob knew she was listening.

  “Your ambulance died and the city blacked out at the same time, right?” Rob got nods from both. “Your cell phones working?” Both shook their heads no. “How about any of the equipment in the back?”

  “We haven’t checked,” Jasmine said, sounding a little less annoyed. “We weren’t transporting a patient so none of it would be on anyways.”

  Miguel was already walking to the back doors, followed by
Rob, Rachel, and Jasmine. Miguel opened the doors and stepped up into the walkway between the gurney and a bench that was situated against the side of the ambulance. He reached over and held down the power button on what Rob thought was some sort of heart monitor. There was no response from the equipment. “That’s weird,” he said as he tried two other electronic devices. Again, no response from either. “This should all be working. I checked all of it before we went in service and it was fine. And the one patient we ran to County Hospital was hooked up to two of these and they worked fine. What the heck?”

  “Either of you ever see the sky like that?” Rob continued his line of questions.

  They both shook their head and Jasmine said, “I’ve lived here all my life and I’ve never seen it before. It’s an aurora right? Like you see on those nature shows of the north pole.”

  “That’s right.” Rob continued, addressing both medical professionals, “You’re both smart, you have to be in your line of work. Any of those things I just asked you about could be explained if they happened individually. But they all happened at the same time. The power, your rig, cellphones, the equipment in the back, the aurora. What are the odds of all of that happening at the same time?”

  “Okay I get what you are saying, but that doesn’t tell us what’s going on,” Miguel said.

  “What I’m going to tell you will probably make me sound like a nut job conspiracy theorist. And to be honest, even though I prepared for it, I always thought it sounded a little far-fetched myself.” Rob paused a moment as his mind turned, trying to come up with the quick version. He wanted to get moving again. “I’ll start this by saying I don’t know all of the science and how it all works, but I do know there are two things that could have caused this, and they both have the same effect. The first is a solar flare, the second is a nuclear device detonated somewhere in the atmosphere. Because of the aurora, and the alerts we received from NAWAS prior to it happening, I’m leaning towards a solar flare, but I could be completely wrong. Anyways, if either of those happen, and they are strong enough, they knock out everything electronic. Basically humanity is set back a couple centuries.” Rob stopped to let them digest the information.