EMP Survivors (Book 1): Destination Lost

by Christof, Norman

  "Garrett ... Garrett." Holly grabbed Garrett's arm to pull him back. "I'm fine. He didn't really mean to knock me into the wall. It was an accident."

  Garrett wasn't about to back down. As he prepared to unleash another tirade on the officer, a booming voice sounded from down the hall.

  "What's the meaning of all this?"

  Everyone turned to see the captain and his security officer making their way towards them. The bosun cut in front of them to address him. "Captain, these passengers have been insistent on speaking with you about a possible mutiny among the passengers. They also tried to force their way onto the bridge, when I told them repeatedly to return to the public areas of the ship."

  "Mutiny? We never said anything about mutiny," Garrett insisted. "What we said was that there are some people on this ship that are--"

  The captain held up his hand to interrupt. "I assure you, sir, that while you may think you're being helpful, you're not. What you are doing is interfering with my officers and the safe operation of this vessel during a time of high alert."

  Holly tried now. "That's exactly what we were trying to warn you about. These men--"

  Once again the captain interrupted. "Do you presume to understand the workings of my ship better than I do? Do you think this is my first cruise? Do you think I haven't had to deal with problem passengers in the past?"

  "No, sir, that's not what we're suggesting," Garrett said.

  "Would you like to be escorted in handcuffs and detained by my security officer and the bosun here for the duration of this voyage?"

  "No, of course not."

  The captain looked over Garrett's shoulder now, and past the bosun. "Why is that young man loitering about my bridge doorway? Is he with you two?"

  While everyone had been preoccupied with the arrival of the captain, Damien had taken it upon himself to get a good view of the bridge and those working inside. The captain pushed his way towards the bridge and stared at Damien long enough that he backed away from the door. It didn't take long.

  The captain made his way into the bridge, leaving everyone else in the hallway.

  This time, the security officer spoke up. "You heard what the captain said. Move along."

  The security officer and the bosun kept an eye on the three of them as they left the hallway.

  "Well, that was quite the waste of time," Garrett remarked.

  "You don't think they heard us?"

  "Oh, they heard us alright. They're just not going to listen. If they think they're having a hard time getting the ship back in order now, just wait till they have to deal with unruly passengers at the same time."

  "You mean unruly like you two?" Damien added with a smile. "Congratulations. I'd say you've been officially added to the no-fly list for cruise ships. Although I'm pretty sure that's not what they call it. Probably more like a no-cruise list."

  "Oh, now you're going to speak up," Holly said. "You could have been more of a help back there. You were the one that heard and saw the men talking about EMPs. Maybe a little description would have made things more convincing."

  "I was busy."

  "Busy?"

  "Yeah. Checking things out. A little spying." Damien grinned. "But if you'd prefer I just stop talking, then I won't tell you what I saw in there while you guys were trying to get tossed in the brig."

  "Go on," Garrett said with interest.

  "Well, it was pretty cool actually. There's all these screens and controls in there. It looks like something from a space ship movie. Too bad none of it was working. I had a perfect view of them from the doorway there." Damien paused to take a breath. "It was a real mess though when I was looking. A bunch of panels were open, and computer boards were pulled out and there were cables all over the place. They were trying to get things working again, but it didn't look like they were having too much success."

  "Yeah, that's all very interesting, but is that it?" Holly asked.

  "Well, there was one big paper map that they had laid out on the big table in the center of the room. They were moving pieces around on it like a big chess board, and if I'm not mistaken, it looked like they were trying to figure out where we were."

  "What makes you say that?"

  "Well, they had all these boats placed on the map. There was one big one that I assumed was us near the center of the map, and all these other smaller boats around us. It was strange, because all the boats seemed to be moving in exactly the same direction. At least, that's what I figured based on how they had them pointed."

  "The Gulf Stream," Holly said. "All those boats are caught in the Gulf Stream. They're all moving in the same direction, because they're all disabled from the EMP and the Gulf Stream is pushing us north."

  "That would mean that those boats all lost power as well," Garrett said. "Those guys you heard, Damien, may have been onto something.

  Holly looked to Damien. "You're sure they were all pointed in the same direction?"

  "Yes." Damien nodded his head.

  "If we're right about this," Garrett said, "then this is big ... really big. And, it means nobody is coming to rescue us. We're on our own."

  "That's a pretty big if," Holly said optimistically, hoping they weren't right. "We could be making some big assumptions here."

  "There are too many coincidences going on. My phone stopped working. Everything on board seems to be dead, from the bridge to the pina colada machines. What else could explain that massive electrical failure?"

  Nobody said anything. Everyone was desperately trying to think of another scenario. Something. Anything. The thought of it all started to settle in on them. Here they were, adrift in the middle of the ocean, with four thousand or so strangers about to freak out when they figured out what was going on.

  Damien spoke first. "There's something else I saw as well. There was another piece they had on the board that they kept moving around. It was coming from down south, and moving towards us. They kept playing with it. Moving it along different paths. Starting from the south, and moving towards us. It looked like they were trying to figure out where it might go to. At first, I wasn't sure what the piece was, but I think I figured it out." Damien paused, and closed his eyes. "I wonder where my parents are."

  "Damien," Garrett said. "Focus. What was the piece?"

  "I can't be positive, but I think it was a storm. A fast one, and it was coming towards us."

  Chapter 10 ~ Leverage

  "Wayne, Wayne! You have to stay with me here for just a little bit longer, OK?" Becky pleaded with Wayne, while William got the equipment in place. It had taken them a little while to find what they needed. It wasn't as good as they had hoped for, but they figured they had a working plan in place. They found a bag of safety harnesses that the workers used when securing themselves to the steelwork. They wrapped a few of them around the boom that was crushing Wayne's legs. They just needed some power to pull the boom off of him for long enough to wiggle him out.

  "Wayne," Becky said. "We've got some gear that we found, and we're going to try and get you out of here."

  Wayne wasn't very cognizant of what they were doing, but he was still breathing. Becky thought it was much shallower than before. She didn't say anything to William about it.

  "OK, Wayne, William is going to try and lift the end of the boom off of you, OK? It's pretty heavy, so he's going to need some help for the both of us. Can you help me with that? We're going to need your help."

  Wayne didn't move.

  "Wayne, try and squeeze my hand if you can hear me."

  "Is he still with us?" William asked. William was working on trying to get some leverage on the end of the chain that he had attached to the safety harnesses wrapped around the boom. He'd managed to string it around one of the overhead exposed beams. His concern was that the beam might not be enough to support the weight of the crane boom, but he quickly discounted that when he decided that it was more of a concern for him to be able to move the boom. He didn't have a lot of leverage, and he was worried t
hat the chain links would get caught up on the hard edges of the beam. To solve that problem, he had found an old tarp to wrap around the chain where it would rub.

  "I think so," Becky answered. "I felt a squeeze. He's definitely still breathing; I can feel his breath. He just needs enough strength to get out from under here."

  Becky turned her attention back to Wayne. "OK, Wayne, we're going to give it a go. Get ready, alright." Wayne still had his hand wrapped around her finger, which she took as a good sign.

  "William, he's good to go. Give it a try."

  William heaved with everything he had.

  William had wanted to be an architect for as long as he could remember. He was even positive of the exact day when he decided to become an architect. Well, maybe not the exact day, but he could tell you the event. It was the vacation his parents took him on when he was just seven years old. They went to Egypt and visited the great pyramids. He didn't remember hating the idea of going, but that's what his mother said his reaction was when they told him they were going. He thought it sounded incredibly boring. Nothing but sand and camels and rocks for miles around. "Why don't we go to the beach?" he had pleaded with his mother. At least that way, there would be water to swim in when it was too hot, and maybe they could have gone fishing. His father liked fishing, and William figured that if he could get Dad on his side, then he wouldn't have to fly all the way around the world where it was too hot and sandy. Besides, he was scared to death of camels. He never told anyone that, so he wasn't sure how his mother figured it out and then insisted on telling it as part of this story, but she did. He couldn't even remember why it was that he was so scared of them. Maybe, he figured later, it was because he'd seen one bite someone on TV. Whatever it was, he was pretty sure he wasn't scared of them now.

  Anyways, what it was that instilled a love for architecture in him was when he first saw the pyramids. These were the most amazing things he had ever seen in his life. He couldn't believe his mother never told him anything about them when they were planning the trip. She insisted otherwise, but of course she always did that. If she had told him about the pyramids, then there was no doubt in his mind that he would have been thrilled to go. They were big enough to block out the sun, and so majestic. You could climb up their stairs, which seemed to go on forever. His parents kept making him and his older brother wait on the way up, while they rested every few minutes. The view up top was spectacular. The sand dunes that went on for miles seemed so much more interesting up there. Way better than any time he had spent on a beach. And then there was the trip down the pyramids. He and his brother wanted to race from the very top to the bottom. His parents, of course, refused to let them. The steps were far too steep, and they were afraid they'd roll all the way down. William just figured they were out to spoil his fun.

  When he got home, all his spare time was devoted to reading about the pyramids. Their history, their treasures, and of course all the ancient pharaohs that were buried inside. But, the most interesting thing of all was how they were constructed. Especially the fact that people back then didn't have anywhere near the technology that we have today. He thought about all the slaves used to build those pyramids, and how difficult that must have been. They worked and toiled in the hot sun under adverse conditions lifting tons and tons of rocks into place, after transporting them from great distances.

  That's what William thought about when he heaved on the chain to lift the boom off Wayne. About how hard that had been for those slaves so many centuries ago. They worked like their lives depended on it, and that's what William thought as he pulled on the chain. He knew the odds were against him, but still he struggled with all his might. He was no engineer, he was an architect ... at least one in training. He didn't have the understanding an engineer would when it comes to forces and leverage and push and pull, but neither did the slaves all those years ago, and they managed to build pyramids that still stood today.

  William wanted to be an architect because he saw himself as more the artistic dreamer than the nuts and bolts builder. He wanted to inspire people that saw his buildings the way that the pyramids had inspired him. He wished now that he understood leverage, and fulcrums, and push and pull. But, for now he just pulled. Pulled with everything in his body to move that boom just a little bit. Right now, he was a kid panicking over the thought of someone dying. Someone close to him. He didn't want to see that happen.

  "It's not working," Becky called out, breaking William from his concentration. "It's not budging, not even a little bit. Can you move it further down the boom and get some more leverage?"

  "I can try, but that's the longest piece of chain that we could find. If I go too much further down the boom, then I won't be able to reach it. Hang on."

  "Hurry," Becky said. "He's not doing well."

  William slid the chain further out on the boom, but couldn't reach the end of it. He found, however, some old wooden pallets, and when he stacked them up, he could just reach the end of the chain. Still, even from this position, he didn't have the strength to budge the boom. Nothing they tried seemed to work. Becky came over to talk to him as he frantically tried to figure out a better solution.

  "You're going to have to help me pull from this end," William said. He was near panic now, and his voice showed it.

  "Wayne won't be able to get himself out if I'm down here with you. I'm not even sure if he's still alive. I hate leaving him."

  "I can't budge this thing on my own. I'm running out of ideas."

  "Hang on. Was there any more chain?"

  "Yes, there was a bunch but it's all shorter pieces. They won't help."

  "It might, it just might."

  Becky gave William instructions as they worked frantically. On the floor, there was one of those big diesel generators; the kind that they use for industrial welding. This one was really big. If they'd known how heavy it actually was, they likely wouldn't have tried using it. In reality, it weighed close to a ton. They wheeled it over so that it was the beam they'd draped the chain over. Then, they built a small ramp up to some skids that they stacked directly under the chain. It took all their strength to wheel it up on the skids. It almost rolled back on them a few times, but they finally got it up there. The skids groaned under the weight of the generator.

  Then, they secured one end of the chain to the generator. It had lifting hardware already installed on it for when the cranes lifted it from the ground.

  Then, they fastened the other end of the chain, using some carabiners from the safety harnesses, to the chain attached to the boom. They used a number of carabiners at various points along the chain to make it as strong as possible. They also made sure that the chain was as taut as they could make it. Then, they tried pulling out the skids from under the generator, but they couldn't. No matter how hard they pushed or pulled, the skids wouldn't move under the weight. So, they started smashing them. They had used three skids, and they smashed the cross support beams on the skids with a hammer and wrench used for tightening bolts on the steel work. Eventually, the skids collapsed and crumpled. The chain holding the generator grew even tighter, and while it dropped a little bit when one of the carabiners snapped, it held. Eventually, there was enough of a gap in the skids that they could push them all out. Now, the full weight of the two-ton generator pulled on the chain which was attached to the safety harnesses that held the boom. The boom started to creak and flex just a little bit.

  "Go. Go quick," William said. "I don't know how long this thing will hold. Quickly, get him out of there."

  Becky raced back to where Wayne was lying. She pushed him to the side so his back wasn't against the column, and she wrapped both her arms around his chest, and started to pull. He groaned as if in pain, but didn't budge. She pulled more, and wedged her foot against some rubble for more leverage. He started to slide.

  "He's moving. He's moving. I can feel him moving."

  William watched the boom strain against the weight of the welder. It started to slip just a littl
e bit. He panicked.

  William yelled to Becky, "You need to hurry, it's moving. I'm not sure how long this thing will last. Get him out now."

  William grabbed the end of the chain to stop the slippage. In his mind, he thought about all those slaves so many years ago that had died toiling with all their heart under the Egyptian sun. He thought to himself, Those slave may have lifted a pyramid, but today, I'm going to save a life.

  He pulled as if his arms were about to come out of their sockets. The chain groaned, the boom flexed, and William ignored all of it. He wasn't going to give up no matter what. He pulled just a little bit more. Then, without warning, everything let go. The chain holding the welder snapped in the middle. The carabiners went flying through the air like bullets; one just narrowly missing William, and the boom crashed to the concrete floor with a loud thud. William came running over to Becky. Wayne was out. His legs were free, and Becky had him cradled in her lap.

  William dropped to his knees next to Becky and Wayne.

  "How is he? Is he going to be alright?"

  "How would I know? I'm not a doctor." Becky gave William a steely stare.

  "Sorry, sorry. I didn't mean it like that. I was just worried. I don't know what to do." He looked down at Wayne, who looked a little gray. "He doesn't look good. We've gotta get help. We've gotta get down to street level."

  "Yep, that's all we can do. Do you know any first aid?"

  "No. You?"

  "A little bit, but not much. We should probably stabilize his legs. The one looks really bad."

  "Yeah, I don't know. Could we really make it any worse? It's gotta be broken. I think we just need to get the hell out of here. We should just get him down to the ground. That leg is the least of his problems."

  Becky hesitated. She didn't like what William was saying, but he was probably right. "I saw a wheelbarrow over around the corner. Can you go get it? If we put him in that, we should be able to get him to the elevator."