The last one he read made a chill run down his spine. ‘Government has ordered ammunition and fuel stock piles to be distributed to all military bases.’ “Bases had stockpiles, why would they need more,” he asked out loud. He read more and knew why Tim and Sherry were worried, but until the power stopped he still could’ve blown it off.
Suddenly, he heard a yell. “Nathan, come here quick!” Turning around, he saw Renee standing at the side door of the store, waving at him. Jumping out, Nathan ran to her and she held the door open for him. Stepping inside, he noticed a crowd at the counter and heard the NOAA (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration) alert going off. Walking closer, he saw the radio he had bought sitting behind the counter. “It just suddenly went off,” Renee told him, leading him behind the counter.
“What’s it mean?” someone shouted.
“Radios are coming back up,” Nathan said, sitting down on a stool behind the counter.
“Does that mean the government is getting it fixed?” another person yelled.
“Hell, I don’t know. I don’t speak NOAA alert alarm!” Nathan shouted over the blaring alarm.
“Well, what do you know?” someone else yelled.
“I know the next fucker that asks me a stupid question I’ll shoot ‘em in the face!” he shouted. Suddenly the alert stopped and a voice came on.
“This is NOAA weather radio broadcasting from Savannah, Georgia. We are notifying the public that the Earth was hit with a massive CME at 11:18 a.m. local time. This CME is rated a Z-class and so far numbers are putting it a hundred times as massive as the Carrington event of 1859. When this CME hit the Earth it caused several satellites in orbit which were carrying plutonium or uranium to detonate. We don’t know how many yet but the EMPs that resulted—,” The man suddenly stopped and the Emergency Broadcast system alarm came on.
“Why did he stop?” Renee asked.
“He was kicked off the air,” Nathan told her. “That warning is from the Emergency Broadcast system, not NOAA,” he informed her.
“Why did they stop him?” she asked.
“Undoubtedly he was saying shit they didn’t like,” Nathan told her. He reached over and patted her arm reassuringly.
She looked at him with tears running down her face. “Is it going to be okay?” she asked.
Nathan looked at her and thought about lying to her, then shook his head. “No, but we can try to make it better for ourselves and our families,” he told her.
“My husband is a deputy. Do you think he’s going to be alright?” she asked.
“If he’s smart and strong he will be fine, but’s it’s only going to get worse as time goes on, so be ready,” he told her.
She gave him a weak smile. “Okay I will,” she said, standing up. Outside he heard engines and saw a line of four school busses pass in front of the store.
“Where are they heading?” someone yelled.
“They’re heading to the school. The county has set up a crisis center there,” someone replied. As one, the mass of people dropped what they wanted to buy and took off out of the store after the buses. Those in the diner that had their food left, and when those that were waiting got theirs, they also ran out the door.
In ten minutes, the store was empty with only one customer, a man, standing at the magazine rack. “And people don’t like to be referred to as sheep.” He laughed out loud.
“Hey Jim,” Connie said, walking over from the diner. “Did the school really set up a center?” she asked.
“Oh yeah, but they don’t know anything. Your radio is the first I’ve heard since the event. What they said sure makes sense,” Jim answered.
Nathan nodded his head in agreement. “That it does,” he said, and Jim looked at him.
“I like how you handled the stupid questions. I wish I could do that in class,” Jim told him, chuckling.
Connie turned to Nathan. “Jim is the senior science teacher,” she told him.
Jim looked at Nathan. “I think you know something about CMEs and EMPs,” he said, not asking.
“I know a little,” Nathan told him.
“I think more than a little. How widespread do you think the EMP hit was?”
“Can’t even begin to guess, but I hope it only affected the eastern seaboard,” Nathan replied.
“Where you from?” Jim asked.
“Idaho,” Nathan replied.
“Yeah, I can see why you would hope that. It’s a long walk home,” Jim told him.
“Can’t they just turn the power back on?” Renee asked.
Before Nathan could answer, Jim spoke up. “No Renee, I’m sure by now the power plants are on fire and all the substations are burnt out. I only hope they are able to shut down the nuclear power plants before they have a meltdown. The Earth’s magnetic field is overloading the system. Any long stretch of wire is gathering electricity. Hell, this afternoon one of the kids touched the fence around the school and it shocked the hell out of him. That humming you hear outside is power running through the lines from the Earth’s magnetic field.”
“We can make new power plants,” Connie said.
“Oh, we will have to if we want power. None of the big transformers are even made in America anymore, and they take years to build not to mention the actual turbines at the plants. The EMP was probably the worst thing that could’ve happened. It broke the system so it couldn’t be shut down, the important parts that is,” Jim replied.
“What about the reactors?” Brian asked.
“Well Brian, the reactors have generators to pump water but they are not EMP proof. The Nuclear Commission didn’t think that was relevant,” Jim answered.
“How long if they aren’t able to cool it down?” Jessie asked.
“Few days,” Jim answered, grabbing a magazine and walking over to the checkout. “Y’all need to be careful, I’ve heard a lot of gunshots around town,” he said, laying money on the counter.
“You too Jim,” Connie told him.
Jim picked up his stuff and walked out. Connie turned to the others, “Let’s get this cleaned up,” she said, pointing at the mess the crowd had left.
Brian stomped his foot. “I’ve been here for almost twenty hours,” he snapped.
“Like you’re the only one,” Renee told him.
Nathan left as the group started cleaning up. Walking to his Suburban, he climbed in the back and sprawled out, trying to relax. Off in the distance, he heard what sounded like a lawn mower approaching.
Lifting his head up, he saw a gigantic man driving a riding lawn mower. Only when he pulled in the parking lot did Nathan realize there was a woman sitting in his lap. The woman climbed off and went into the store. The man saw him and waved at Nathan and he waved back. Then, to Nathan’s surprise, the man drove over and parked behind his truck and turned the mower off. Nathan scooted to the back, letting his legs hang out.
“Ain’t this a river of shit,” the man said grinning.
“Big, deep and wide,” Nathan answered, making the huge man laugh. The man was wearing overalls, a hat, and boots. To top it off, he was huge, not fat, maybe a little porky, but an easy six-foot-seven, four hundred pounds. He was country through and through. “Name’s Fred,” he said, holding out his hand.
“Nathan,” he replied shaking Fred’s hand. Looking at the lawn mower, Nathan said, “You need to drop the deck off, put a better muffler on it, and I would start riding with a gun.”
The man reached behind him, pulling out a .357 magnum with an eight-inch barrel. “Yeah, I’ve heard some gunshots around,” he said. Nathan knew the gun was massive but in Fred’s hand it looked like a pea shooter.
“You dropping your wife off at work?” Nathan asked.
“Yep, I got sent home from the plant after it happened. Luckily one of the old men had drove a 1934 truck and it started right up,” Fred told him.
“He drove everyone from your plant home in one truck?” Nathan asked amazed.
Fred shrugged his shoulders. �
��It’s a chicken farm,” he admitted.
“Oh,” Nathan replied. “You have a trailer for that thing?” he asked.
“Sure,” Fred replied.
“Bring it tomorrow with some gas cans and I’ll siphon the gas out of my truck for you,” Nathan told him.
“Thanks,” Fred grinned.
“No problem,” Nathan told him.
“Well, I’m heading back home to work on my truck. I think I can have it running soon,” Fred said as he started the mower up and took off.
Shaking his head, Nathan looked at Ares. “If that wasn’t country I don’t know what is,” he said, and Ares barked, agreeing.
Nathan climbed back up in the cargo area, closing the rear hatch, and laid down, closing his eyes. He didn’t know how long they’d been closed when he heard a deep-throated growl. Cracking an eye open, he saw Ares looking out the window toward the road. Nathan slowly rose up till he could just peek out the side window.
A white man with a shaved head was walking across the parking lot holding his hand inside a leather vest. The man kept looking around and stopped when he reached the front door. “Now he’s not acting suspicious at all,” Nathan observed. With a last look around, the man stepped inside. “Well just kiss my ass,” Nathan complained, opening the door behind the passenger seat and climbing out.
“Ares, follow,” Nathan said, walking toward the side door. He checked his gear and carefully moved his shirt off his pistol. Tightening his vest, he looked down at Ares. “If he shoots Daddy you better kill him,” Nathan told him. Ares just gave a low growl as they eased toward the door.
As they reached the side door of the store, Nathan heard a man’s voice yelling, “Get your old asses in here and you, sweet thing, give me the money now!” Nathan was going to guess it was Kojack as he pulled out his pistol. “I’m taking the sweet thing with me, and if anyone tries anything I’ll cut her up, understand?” the man yelled as Nathan opened the door and eased inside in a crouch.
Coming around an end cap, Nathan saw the man had everyone on the floor and Renee by the wrist. Nathan stood up, aiming at the man’s back. “I’ll be your huckleberry,” Nathan said in a plain voice, causing the man to spin around and bring up his pistol. Nathan squeezed the trigger, filling the store with a thunderous BOOM.
As the first bullet raced for its target, Nathan sent two more. The first shot hit the man in the neck, completing his spin and making him release Renee, slinging her to the floor. Then the next bullet hit him in the center of the chest and the third shot hit the man in the left chest wall right over his heart. Kojack dropped his pistol and reached for his neck as he dropped down to the floor.
Keeping his pistol aimed at the man, Nathan eased forward as the man coughed, holding his hands on his neck. Reaching the man, Nathan bent over and picked up the pistol he’d dropped. Ejecting the magazine, Nathan racked the slide back, ejecting the round in the chamber, then laid the gun on the counter. Never taking his aim off the man, he moved over and quickly frisked him, finding a knife and two magazines.
Nathan holstered his pistol and looked down at the man as he coughed up blood. “Help me,” the man gasped, holding out a hand to Nathan.
“Help you? After all the trouble I went through to kill you? You’ve got to be kidding me,” Nathan said. He turned around. “Is everyone alright?” he asked the others as he helped Renee up.
“That son of bitch was going to kill us all!” Jessie shouted, standing up.
“Yeah, I’m pretty sure he was,” Nathan agreed, looking back at the man. “Dude, you just had to pick this store, huh?” Nathan asked as the man fought to breathe. “You know I’m an ER nurse and could probably buy you some time, but I’m choosing not to,” Nathan said as the man started to gurgle.
“Oh God,” Monica cried and took off running to the diner.
Nathan watched her run off, followed by another woman who he took to be Fred’s wife. He turned to Jessie. “Jessie, lock the doors, I’ll be right back. Nobody touch anything,” Nathan said, running out to his truck and coming back with a digital camera.
“That works?” Connie asked.
“Yeah, it was in a shielded bag,” Nathan said, taking pictures. “I want everyone to grab a piece of paper and write down what happened,” he told them, taking more pictures. The group moved to the counter and started writing as Nathan finished taking pictures. Putting the camera in his pocket, he knelt down next to the now dead man. Opening his leather vest up, Nathan saw a holster shoved in the front of his pants. Taking it out, he tossed it to the side. Looking at the inside pocket of the vest, he saw a bulge and carefully opened it up and found two rolls. Reaching in, Nathan pulled them out to find they were rolled hundred dollar bills. Searching the other inside pocket, he found a bag with a shitload of blue pills.
Tossing them with the holster, he reached down and pulled the front pocket inside out and found a bag of crystal power. “Damn, that is a lot of meth,” Nathan said to himself, figuring it was close to seven ounces. Rolling the man over, he pulled out a wallet and undid the chain holding it to the belt. Opening the wallet, Nathan gasped. “Shit, you have more money than I do and you want to rob the place?” Nathan asked the corpse.
Everyone looked over at him. “Someone bring me that pistol and a bag to put this shit in please,” Nathan asked. Lenore brought one over as Nathan finished his search, not finding anything else. Taking some pictures of what he’d taken off the man, Nathan put the stuff in the plastic bag and stood up. Tying the bag to his belt, he walked down an aisle and grabbed a roll of duct tape and a tarp.
Walking back, he laid the tarp out beside the body. “You can’t move him till our police get here,” Brian snapped.
“I’ll take that under advisement,” Nathan told him as he reached over and grabbed two shirts off a rack and stuffed them around the man’s neck. Walking over to another rack, he grabbed a pack of Playtex gloves. Pulling on a pair, he handed the other to Jessie and headed over to the body.
“I’m telling you, Nathan, you can’t move that body till a real crime investigator gets here,” Brian yelled.
Nathan stood up. “Brian, I’m glad you paid attention to CSI but in case you haven’t noticed, nobody is going to show up anytime soon, and the air is off, that’s why it’s hot in here. I’ve been around dead bodies and they start to stink fast. Kojack is already shitting himself,” Nathan told him.
“I can arrest you if you move that body,” Brian challenged him.
“Dude! You couldn’t stop a wet dream,” Nathan snapped as he continued to work.
“I’m placing you under citizen’s arrest. Hand over your weapon!” Brian shouted.
Slowly, Nathan stood up and said, “In your dreams, Brian.”
Brian took a step back.
Nathan grinned. “Hey Brian, you pissed your pants,” he said, pointing at his crotch. Brian looked down and saw the large wet spot on his pants and took off running to the back of the store. Nathan could almost swear he was crying.
Moving over to the body, he and Jessie rolled it onto the tarp. Then, rolling the tarp around the body, they folded the ends over and taped them down with duct tape. They were both breathing hard as they stood up. “I don’t expect you guys have a dolly or something we can move his ass with?” Nathan asked.
“Yeah, hold on,” Connie said, running to the back of the store. She came back with a flat-box dolly. The others moved over and helped move the body onto the dolly as a knock was heard at the door, making everyone jump.
They looked up and saw three men and a woman dressed in business attire pounding on the door. “We’re closed!” Connie yelled at them.
“I’m a lawyer and I demand you open this door. This is an emergency!” one of the men shouted.
“We’re closed. Go back the way you came and go under the Interstate and head to the school. They have a shelter set up there!” Connie yelled at him.
“I will break this damn door down if you don’t open it!” he yelled at her.
>
“I’m not opening the door!” Connie yelled. Just then, the man looked down at the floor and saw all the blood. Then he noticed the bundle wrapped in a tarp.
“What the hell are you doing?” he yelled, his eyes bulging.
“This is the last bitch that banged on our door threatening to break it down, so I shot him!” Nathan yelled.
The four stepped back from the door. “I’m going to tell the police about this!” the man shouted.
“Good, tell them to come and get the bodies. We’re starting to pile them pretty high here!” Nathan shouted, and the four took off running.
Connie turned around, shaking her head at Nathan. “Where have you been all my life?” she asked.
“Ah, up in the northwest,” he told her.
“What do you want to do with this?” she asked.
“Roll him outside and throw him in the woods on the other side of the parking lot. The law can pick him up when they can.”
“He will really be stinking by then,” she said.
“Well we don’t really have a lot of options. He damn sure isn’t going in my truck. It may not run but I still like it,” Nathan told her.
“Let’s put him in the back freezer,” she suggested.
“Connie, the power is out and that’s a sealed room. You want to talk about stink?” Nathan replied.
“The freezer is run off propane and those two tanks out back are full. They will keep the freezer on for a year unless it breaks down,” she said.
Thinking about it for a minute, he said, “Well it’s better than he deserves, but okay.”
“How about we put him in the freezer outside?” Jessie asked.
Dark Titan Journey Book 1 Page 4
