Antediluvian Purge (Book 1): EMP

by Ison, S. A.

  “How do you know it is Mayor Audrey is taking over?” Harry asked.

  Willene and both Marilyn laughed harshly at the same time. Marilyn had just come down in time to hear the last of Katie’s question. Harry looked at the women, then at Boggy, who was silent, his eyes watching the people around him. The boy’s eyes were filled with unshed tears and fear. Boggy may be young, but he knew what the hate of the KKK could do, Harry was sure.

  “Mayor Audrey and Sheriff Yates are high up in the KKK organization,” Marilyn said, dabbing her nose with a tissue. “It is rumor, mind you, but I’d not put it past them.”

  “I thought the KKK was pretty much shut down,” Harry said, shaking his head.

  “No Harry, it’s goin’ strong an’ alive. I ’spect they done did keep it on the down low. I’s watch my back ever time. Them thar boys is mean,” Boggy said. “My granny said she’d done did had a couple runnins with them boys. Said they’s bad’uns. Special when she was young.”

  “With all the checks and balances, and phones that video everything, the Mayor and the sheriff were kept in check. They didn’t want any lawsuit, and for the most part have kept their rhetoric to themselves,” Marilyn added.

  “They’ve also kept their people on a short leash; that is, until now,” Willene said, anger lacing her voice, her mouth hard and turned down.

  “Now those checks and balances are gone, along with the law,” Marilyn said, her voice flat and angry.

  “What we gonna do, Harry?” Boggy asked, fear and hope warring in his eyes as he looked at Harry, the coffee cup clutched to his chest like a shield.

  “I don’t know. I don’t want to go out looking for a fight, but I won’t run from them. With Earl down and hurt, there are only five adults here, and I’m sure the KKK has plenty of men who will be glad to end all of us,” Harry said as he looked into his cup, a frown on his face. “We need to think and plan this out. There isn’t much we can do unless they bring this fight to us.”

  “Katie, you can stay with us now. If you go back anywhere near town, those animals will kill you,” Willene said, placing her arm around the doctor.

  “Yes, Katie, you’ll need to stay here with us, I agree with Willene, I don’t think it is safe. We are far enough away that we shouldn’t encounter too much trouble. We are well armed,” Harry said, looking around the table at each face.

  Katie looked at the twins, her eyes tearing up. She then reached over and grabbed Willene and Harry’s hands. Her mouth trembled as she tried to smile through the tears that streamed down her face. “Thank you so much for your kindness. Can you tell me what has happened? Why is the power out? I think I know, but I’m hoping I’m wrong,” Katie said.

  “We think it might have been an EMP via a coronal eruption. Now, the reason I think it might be a coronal eruption is that our grandfather said it was,” Harry said, and raised a hand when Katie opened her mouth to say something.

  “I know what you are thinking, but my grandfather was dying. It is said by our native American ancestors that when a person is close to death, they have one foot in this world and one foot in the next.” He looked at Willene, who nodded. “My grandfather also knew about my girlfriend in Germany, and knew her name,” Harry said, looking at Willene.

  Willene sat forward. “Girlfriend?”

  A smile trembled on Harry’s lips as he tried to stifle the pain. “I had been dating Franziska Gnodtke for over a year. She’s in Germany. I’d not told anyone about her but had planned to. Peapot knew who she was, and told me she would be fine. He also said that this mess was because of the sun.”

  Harry looked around at the faces, and noted the hair rising on everyone’s arms. He could see the goosebumps clearly in the candlelight. Alan shrank a little in his chair, his shoulders going up toward his ears.

  Harry cleared his throat. “Anyway, I think what has happened was caused by a solar coronal event, some kind of eruption, or a massive solar storm or something. I think it hit the whole world. I don’t think we will get power any time soon,” Harry finished, shrugging helplessly.

  The room was quiet for a moment, everyone taking in the revelation. Alan shifted in his chair, then stood. “Reckon I’d better skedaddle, get back to my grandpa, I thank he gonna be worrit. I’ll keep an ear out, an’ maybe if I heard anythang ‘portant, I’ll come back. I thank I got enough gas fer a couple more trips.”

  Harry slapped the teen on the shoulders, intending to lead him out of the kitchen.

  “Thank you, Alan, you saved my life,” Katie said, getting up. She walked over to the teen and hugged him. The tall gawky teen glowed red in the dim light, an embarrassed grin on his homely face.

  Alan waved farewell to the women and shook Boggy’s hand. He bumped into the table and it shook violently. He grinned, embarrassed, and made his way out of the kitchen, Harry following.

  Harry led the way down the hill and helped Alan through the barricade. Alan reached inside the truck and drew out Katie’s bag. He handed it over to Harry.

  “Drive careful and don’t say anything to anyone, not even your grandfather. Tonight, didn’t happen. Tell your grandfather that Dr. Katie wasn’t at the hospital. That way, if anyone askes him, he can truthfully say he doesn’t know,” Harry instructed the young man.

  Alan’s head nodded like a bobble head, and he slowly pulled away and headed down the winding road. For a few minutes, Harry stood and watched the red tail lights heading out of sight. There was no moon, but the stars were bright. Harry looked up into the night sky.

  The brilliant stars had never shone so bright here before, uninterrupted by the ever-present glow of towns or cities. It was a breathtaking sight, and Harry knew that the natural beauty could be marred by greedy, evil humans. He didn’t know what was coming, but he knew something was; there was no doubt in his mind. They had to get ready, really ready.

  CHAPTER SIXTEEN

  Mayor Audrey sat back in his chair, a large smile on his lips. Across from him was Sheriff Yates, who was smoking a cigar and blowing smoke rings above his head. There were five other men in the room: Officer Grady, Officer Learn and Officer Smalls, and two new recruits.

  “Ya’ll boys did a damn good job,” Mayor Audrey said with a yellow smile. “Most every non-white is now out of our town, one way or another.” He crowed with laughter at the thought.

  “You boys ever find that North Korean doctor, Katie Lee?” Tate asked, his light blue eyes moving from man to man.

  “No sir, we done did asked her commie parents, but they didn’t say nothin’, just that gook shit. We had ta kill a couple of do-gooders, they was tryin’ to step into our business,” Grady said, a sneer on his face and his sandy eyebrows pulled down.

  “We got to the hospital, an’ looked around, but couldn’t find her. Just a couple nurses an’ orderlies. We questioned them, but they didn’t know nothin’.”

  “Ah well, she’ll turn up sommers,” Mayor Audrey said, the smile still on his face. Hs teeth looked like large yellow chicklets. “Ya’ll did a fine job and got lots of good Christian white folk to bolster our numbers and protect what’s ours.” Audrey looked at the new men, his thick brows going up. The men shuffled their feet, eyes fixed on the floor.

  “Yes sir, and we got thirty people all ’gether. Some is ex-military, ’cept they was dishonorably discharged,” Officer Vern Small said, and shrugged,

  Mayor Audrey looked at the short thin man. He knew Vern to be a vicious little bastard.

  “That’s okay, son, we kin work with ’em,” Yates said dismissively.

  “Sir, Clay Patterson ain’t come back from Lexington yet. What do we do when he gets back?” Grady asked, chewing his lower lip, his hand stroking the butt of his weapon in its holster.

  “Well, if he shows up, we just take care of him like I did Deets.” Sheriff Yates smiled and blew a plume of fragrant smoke into the air.

  “Officer Grady, I want you to gather your people, start on the outskirts of town and work your way in. Go house to house and
confiscate weapons,” The mayor announced, sitting up straight in his chair. “I don’t want to worry ’bout our citizens gettin’ too rowdy. ’sides, with our large police force, folks don’t got to worry ’bout protectin’ themselves. Ya’ll got their backs.

  “Next, you need to check for food and usable supplies. I don’t want your people to take everything, just tell them we just need a bit. I don’t want these folks getting up in arms about it.” Audrey’s face dead serious, his eyes drilling into Grady’s. “Tell them we will make more food available at a determined date. Do not rough them up. You are to be polite and courteous, do I make myself clear?” Mayor Audrey ordered firmly.

  He looked at each man and then the sheriff. At the sheriff’s nod, he continued.

  “If they refuse on either account, just take their names and we will deal with them later. For now, we want everyone to feel good about our new police force. We want them to feel safe and we want them on our side. We are in this for the long haul,” he concluded.

  The men exited the room with their orders. Mayor Audrey leaned back in his chair and propped his feet up on his desk. He clacked his small shoes together. “Life sure is looking white, and right.” He laughed hard.

  Sheriff Yates joined in the laughter. The room rang with harsh hilarity as both men felt the power of the plans they’d made and the fact that things were going great. So far, there had been very few snags. The disappearance of the doctor was troublesome, but not really important.

  Rupert Audrey and Danny Yates had opened a new and sweeping chapter of the KKK in their town. All townspeople were welcome to join. They had posted notices announcing one and all were welcome into the klavern.

  They had set a bounty for turning in anyone who wasn’t white and wasn’t a Christian and most certainly anyone who wasn’t heterosexual. It was a sweeping plan to ferret out those who tried to hide from the long arm of the law. There were also added incentives.

  “For the first time in my life, I ain’t gonna apologize for my lineage. I can tell the world I’m with the KKK and that all non-whites should fear me,” Rupert said, relighting a cigar. He pulled on the stogy and puffed.

  “I can remember my grandpappy telling me about his grandpappy being in the KKK. They were real proud and real powerful back then. In the last thirty years, our power and influence have gone down the toilet,” Yates said, a sour look on his face.

  “Don’t I know it. But we will rebuild. We now hold the power and the might, and the right on our side,” Audrey said, giving the sheriff a toothy grin.

  Both men sat silent, smiling to themselves. Outside, random shots were fired in the distance. “You’ll need to get that under control. I don’t want my citizens feeling fearful. They need to know they are secure in our hands,” Rupert said.

  “You got it, Mayor. I’ll take care of it. That sure was a good plan of yours to put them undesirables to work for us, that is what ya call free labor,” Yates said, smiling.

  “They had it right the first time with slavery; we need to get back to simpler times. We’s at the top of the food chain now, and I plan to stay there.” Rupert crowed with laughter.

  Ӝ

  Katie lay in the bed weeping, her hand covering her mouth to silence the moans. Willene was on duty, her soft steps creaking on the worn wooden boards of the porch. Katie couldn’t comprehend the magnitude of what had happened. Not just the coronal event that knocked their world back a few hundred years, but the evil and hate that had killed her parents.

  Her sweet parents, who’d been so kind and given everything for her to go to medical school. They had been loving parents, and they didn’t deserve it; they didn’t deserve to be killed.

  She sat up, knowing she couldn’t sleep. She smoothed back the mass of heavy black hair and secured it with an elastic tie. Her eyes hurt, puffy and swollen as they were from the crying. She got up and walked to the window.

  The shy moon had come out and she looked out over the mountains, dark against the lighter, starlit sky. She’d been at this house many times over the years, but she’d never stayed overnight. The bedroom was small and neat. It held a daybed, a small dresser, and a wash stand. It was very old fashioned.

  She picked up the flashlight she’d been given and shone it around the room. There was faded floral wallpaper, reminiscent of the early nineteenth century. The wash stand had a beautiful ceramic carafe that looked like it also belonged in the nineteenth century. The curtains at the open window were white with eyelets around the edges, and there was the small closet she’d put her valise into.

  She had no clothing, except what she’d worn for the last three days. Willene and Marilyn had given her some of their clothing, and Willene had given her a bowl of hot water, soap, and a towel. Their kindness had touched Katie deeply. They were like sisters she’d never had.

  Katie had cleaned up and changed into a long t-shirt. She’d laughed, because it came down to her shins. It must have been one of Harry’s old shirts. It was very large, but very comfortable. The faded lettering said An Army of One.

  She quietly made her way downstairs; the light illuminated her way to the porch. She opened the screen door and, stepping out into the cool of the night, she turned off the flashlight. Katie drew in a deep breath and reveled in the freshness on her heated face. She saw Willene coming around the corner of the house and lifted a hand.

  “Can’t sleep?” Willene asked.

  “No. I keep thinking about my parents. They didn’t deserve that hate, that evil cruelty,” Katie whispered, her voice catching in her throat.

  “No, they didn’t. They were the sweetest people I knew, and they always made me feel welcome,” Willene said, a soft smile in her voice.

  “What are we going to do, Willy? How can these people do this and get away with it?” Katie asked, her voice filled with fear and her hands twisted each other into locked finger knots.

  “I don’t know. We are so far away from town, and though we have plenty of guns, I don’t know what is going on there now, how many KKK there are, or even who they are. What would happen if we went into town? I think Harry, Earl, and Boggy want to go take a look for themselves. Earl is down right now; he was nearly beaten to death by some of his so-called friends,” Willene said.

  “Boggy is black. Do you think that is a good idea, to take him into town?” Katie asked.

  “I guess that would be up to Boggy. But we will have to wait and see. Right now, it feels like we are paralyzed, unable to do much,” Willene complained.

  Katie looked around the hills that surrounded the farmhouse. She could see the tinge of blush of the coming dawn over the mountains to the east. It was peaceful, unlike the turmoil roiling in her soul. She took a shuddering breath and let out a heavy sigh. She knew she had to move past all this. The horror and the hate would eat her alive if she let it.

  “I know my parents are in heaven now, and with this world going to hell, they may well be in a better place,” Katie said, wiping at the tears sliding down her cheeks.

  Willene walked over and wrapped her arms around her friend, hugging her. “Tomorrow, or rather, later today, we will work on setting up more alarms in the woods surrounding the house, traps and tripwires. We also need to expand our garden, plant more veggies. You might want to get some rest if you can,” Willene suggested, patting Katie on the back.

  “I’m sure you’re right. I feel so restless. Thank you again for allowing me to live here. The room is lovely,” she said.

  “No thanks needed, you are a welcome addition. If you don’t mind, maybe later check on Earl? We helped him as best we could,” Willene asked.

  Katie laughed a little. “I’m sure you and Marilyn did fine, but I will be glad to check him. I’ll be as helpful as I can. I love gardening, and I’m a great cook as well.”

  “I’m glad you are here. The more hands, the better off we will be. It looks like we will have to take care of ourselves in more ways than one. Those lawless bastards can’t get away with what they are doing. S
omehow, some way, we will get them ousted,” Willene said, a mulish tilt to her jaw.

  Katie laughed again. She knew that mulish look, having seen it many times at the hospital with a difficult case or a difficult patient. Willene usually got her way, only because the woman never gave up.

  Katie bid Willene a good night, albeit a short one, and she headed into the house. She didn’t need her flashlight, now able to make out objects in the gloom. She climbed the stairs as quietly as she could, but they still squeaked softly beneath her bare feet.

  Ӝ

  The sun had been up for a few hours, and Clay was already sweating. His stomach growled loudly, and he knew Brian was feeling the pangs as well. They had plenty of water; they’d had their fill and refilled his bottled water.

  “You know, Brian, you can always go catch a squirrel,” He told the dog. Brian’s tail wagged, but he kept by Clay’s side, sniffing the ground.

  They’d come across a couple abandoned cars, and looked through them, but found nothing to eat. He was starting to get a niggling feeling far back in his brain, about the cars he’d found abandoned and the loss of power at Pop’s home.

  Whether he couldn’t puzzle it out or he didn’t want to puzzle it out for fear of knowing exactly what was going on, he didn’t know. He tried not to think about it, but the farther he walked and the more abandoned vehicles he came across, the more the nagging thought tried to penetrate the front of his thoughts.

  Brian whined, and Clay looked down and petted the dog. “Sorry boy, I am hoping we can find a house. We have maybe another day before we get home. I’m surprised we’ve not seen anyone,” he told his partner. The dog looked up at him and gave a doggy grin. Clay grinned back.

  In the distance, he heard the heavy rumble of a vehicle coming, the first he’d heard in days. His heart leaped with joy; at last, a ride home. He turned to await the oncoming vehicle.