Code EMP

by M. P. McDonald

  Code EMP

  A Post-Apocalyptic Short Story

  M P McDonald

  MPMcD Publishing

  Copyright © 2018 by M P McDonald

  Cover Art by M.P. McDonald

  All rights reserved.

  No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

  Created with Vellum

  Also by M P McDonald

  The Mark Taylor Series:

  * * *

  Mark Taylor: Genesis

  No Good Deed: Book One

  March Into Hell: Book Two

  Deeds of Mercy: Book Three

  March Into Madness: Book Four

  * * *

  CJ Sheridan Thrillers:

  Shoot: Book One

  Capture: Book Two

  * * *

  Suspense:

  Seeking Vengeance

  * * *

  Sympatico Syndrome Series:

  Infection: A Post-Apocalyptic Survival Novel (Book 1)

  Isolation: A Post-Apocalyptic Survival Novel (Book 2)

  Invasion: A Post-Apocalyptic Survival Novel (Book 3)

  M.P. McDonald’s Newsletter Info

  Join M.P. McDonald’s New Releases & Newsletter List so you don’t miss out on new releases, sales and other goodies. Just for joining, you get a free copy of the short story collection, Sidelines.

  Join now: M.P. McDonald’s New Releases & Newsletter

  Contents

  Foreword

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Acknowledgments

  About the Author

  Foreword

  This short story was originally published in The Will To Survive, a charity anthology for hurricane relief. I was proud to participate in this worthwhile cause and hope that our efforts helped hurricane survivors in Texas, Florida, and Puerto Rico through our donation to One America Appeal and Global Giving Hurricane Harvey Relief Fund.

  The story requirements were that all submissions for the anthology had to be kept under 8,000 words.

  Chapter 1

  The last quarter of a mile to the cabin was Leo Daly’s favorite stretch of road in the world. Trees arched high above, creating a cool, green tunnel, broken only by patches of blue sky and spears of golden sunlight.

  Excitement churned in his stomach. When had he last felt this eager to be anywhere? Leo shook his head. He couldn’t remember. Probably the last time had been in his childhood just before the annual two weeks his family had spent at the lake with his grandparents. The best two weeks of the year.

  So why had he missed out on coming up here the last few summers? Why had he neglected to give his own two children the opportunity to create special memories? Guilt encroached on his excitement and threatened to drown the childlike glee, but he held it at bay.

  Yes, he had allowed the complexities of everyday life to dictate his schedule, but no more. From now on, he would make a point of bringing the family up here every summer, and hell, even in the winter. They could get snowmobiles and ride the trails through the forest and over the frozen lakes. He’d done that a few times as a young man, riding a borrowed snowmobile and decked out in a long snowmobile suit. Good times.

  As the car rounded the last bend, revealing the clear, blue, spring-fed lake just a hundred feet away, his excitement mellowed and pure contentment washed over him.

  He glanced at Kris, her head lolling against the window. She was exhausted from packing for this trip. If only the ER hadn’t been so busy, he could have helped more with the packing but, of course, when he needed to leave, the ER had been absolutely bonkers.

  The nurses had blamed him, calling him Doctor Dooms Day, a play on his last name. Though they were usually more subtle with their name calling, keeping it behind his back, he’d heard the rumors. It seemed that whenever he worked, the emergency room was swamped, as though he went out and solicited patients and offered a Blue Light Special.

  Maybe he should check the calendar and make sure he didn’t get the next full moon assignment. As it turned out, he’d had to stay an extra two hours catching up on charting and dictating.

  The kids dozed in the backseat and Leo enjoyed the rare peace and quiet. Although he knew deep in his gut that Michael and Amy loved each other, their four year age difference made it hard for them to find common ground, and Michael made it his favorite pastime to tease his little sister. It was a good thing both were busy with sports and activities. They’d probably kill each other if they were home together more often.

  A bright flash chased away the shadows of the forest, and Leo blinked and squinted.

  What the hell was that?

  The car died an instant later and Leo fought to control it with the loss of the power steering.

  He scanned the gauges. Nothing. The dashboard lights weren’t even lit. They had enough speed to make the final curve up to the cabin, so he let the car coast. It died not far from where he would normally park it anyway. Puzzled, he thumped the gas gauge. Had he run out of gas without realizing it? Was the gauge wrong?

  “What’s the matter?” Kris yawned and straightened in her seat, then cast him a worried look.

  “I’m not sure. The car just died.” While it wasn’t the greatest way to start a vacation, thankfully they had made it to the cabin. He could call a mechanic to come and look at it on Monday if he couldn’t find anything wrong with it himself. “Maybe just a loose connection or something. There were a few new potholes in the road when I turned off the main highway. I’m surprised none of you woke up when I hit them.” Leo didn’t think he’d hit the holes all that hard, though it was possible that something had jarred loose.

  Shrugging, Kris said, “Okay. Let’s get unloaded. Michael, grab the cooler. Amy, get the bag with the bread and buns.”

  Leo unlocked the front door to the cabin and flicked the light switch. Nothing happened. Crap. He poked his head around the screen. “Hey, Kris, did you remember to pay the electric bill up here?” It was only a low monthly maintenance fee. They could shut it off entirely, but Leo always liked knowing that if he wanted, he could take a spur of the moment weekend getaway, not that he ever did.

  Kris, box of foodstuffs in hand, closed the car door with her hip. “It’s automatically deducted from our bank account. I didn’t check to see if it came out, but I’m assuming it did.”

  “Well, there must have been some glitch because there’s no power.”

  “I guess we’ll have to rough it then.” She edged past him and plopped the box on the table. “At least at this time of year it doesn’t even get dark until after ten. We can just cook on the grill.”

  “What about the cold food? And the frozen meat we brought up?”

  Kris sighed and ran a hand through her hair. “I don’t know. I suppose we can just cook it all tonight and put it back in the cooler. We can get it straightened out on Monday.”

  “Yeah, I guess. I’ll have to get someone to come out and look at the car too. I hope it can be fixed so I can go into town for more food. Even cooking it all tonight, it’s going to go bad in a few days.”

  This sucked. He’d hoped to see as little of town as he could get away with. He had a big date with his fishing pole on Monday.

  “Or we could hike up to the gas station on the other side of the lake. They’ll have milk and cold drinks.”

  “Okay, that’ll be the plan for tomorrow.” Leo pointed beside the door. “Michael, leave the cooler out here on the deck.”

  His son did as he was told, then returned to the car, grabbing his bag of clothes. He’d refused to use a suitcase, and instead had s
tuffed a large white trash bag with what looked like every set of jeans and t-shirt he owned. No doubt he’d just dumped in everything in his dresser drawers. Leo shook his head.

  Amy rolled her small Disney Princess suitcase along the gravel in front of the cabin and Leo smiled. She claimed she was too old for the suitcase, and he liked seeing her with it. It gave him the illusion that his daughter was still his little girl. At eleven, she was growing up faster than he was ready to admit.

  She took after Kris and was petite with blonde hair a few shades lighter than her mom’s. Only her green eyes were like his. Both the kids took after him that way.

  “Leo? The fridge is still cold. So is the freezer.” Kris came to the screen door wearing a puzzled expression. “The power couldn’t have been out too long.”

  Kris tapped her bottle of beer to Leo’s as they shared an Adirondack chair and footrest. The beer was still cold, although most of the ice in the cooler had already melted. All the cooked meat they had wrapped and put into it had taken care of that. Some they had put into the freezer in the cabin in hopes that the power would come back on in the middle of the night. Plus, they had packed around the meat a few plastic containers of soups and stews they’d brought from home. All were still frozen solid and they hoped it would keep the meat from spoiling until the power came back on.

  He wrapped an arm around Kris and stared at the flames of the fire. “I can’t believe the kids are already asleep.” He nuzzled her neck, laughing when she squealed.

  “Hey, your lips are cold!”

  “Your skin isn’t. Mmm…it’s nice and…hot…”

  “Whoa, slow down, mister. I want to relax a little bit. Aren’t you tired? You did all the driving.”

  Leo let his hand drop to her breast and whispered in her ear. “I can drive a little farther still.”

  “Wow, you did need a vacation.” Her head dropped back and she didn’t stop him from exploring.

  “I can’t remember the last time we didn’t have any distractions. It’s always something. The computer, the phone or the TV, or we’re busy chauffeuring the kids around.” He found the button of her blouse and popped it open. She wiggled back, scooting even closer to him. He smiled against her hair and searched for the next button by feel.

  “I know. Amy didn’t even fight me, although Michael was pretty ticked his phone wasn’t working.”

  Leo’s hand stilled. “His phone wasn’t working?”

  “Nope. Mine wasn’t either. I couldn’t remember if I charged it, though, and with the power out and the car dead, there’s no way to recharge it. I hope yours works.”

  Leo shifted in the chair. “Hold this.” He handed his beer to Kris and dug into his pocket for his phone. He’d refused to look at it all day, not wanting to find an email or message from work. He’d planned on claiming that there was little service up here.

  He pressed the button on the top. Nothing. The first frisson of fear wound its way into his veins. The phone had charged all the way here via the car charger adapter and he hadn’t used it since disconnecting it. There should be at least a ninety-five percent charge in the device.

  Kris looked at the phone, and then craned her head back. “It’s not working either?”

  “No.” He dropped his legs, straddling the chair. “I need to get up.” Could all this be connected to that flash of light he’d seen? “Hey, just before we got here, did you see a bright flash?”

  “A flash?” She turned on the chair, half facing him.

  “Yeah, a big flash of light. Like poof!” He made a motion with his hands. “You had to have seen it, it was blinding.”

  Kris shook her head, her brow furrowed. “What’s wrong? You’re scaring me.” She stood, setting the bottles on the ground.

  “Probably nothing.”

  “So what about the flash of light?”

  “It could have just been the sun glinting off the lake and reflecting in the car mirrors.”

  He glanced at the lake and up to the road. Could that really be the case? Could it have just been a sudden glare from the water? Had he seen the lake before or after the flash? It all happened so close together, he couldn’t be certain.

  “I want to check something.” He headed up to the cabin, stumbling on some tree roots exposed by the sandy ground. Kris followed behind him.

  His laptop was in the car. He had planned on using his mobile wireless to check in with the office, log onto the hospital system, and make sure he didn’t miss anything too important, although he’d vowed only a national emergency would get him away from his first vacation in two years, and the first with the kids in three.

  The light didn’t come on when he opened the door, and dread coiled in his belly. Maybe the battery was just dead, yet that didn’t make sense, not when he’d been driving for hours before. It should have been fully charged.

  He lifted the laptop onto the seat, opened it, and jabbed the power button. Leo swore when nothing happened and pressed it again. And again.

  “Damn piece of shit, turn on!”

  “Leo! What are you doing? You’re going to break it!” Kris reached him and grabbed his arm.

  He shoved the laptop across the seat, slammed the door, and spun to look out over the lake. A few bonfires burned on other beaches and faint light shone in a couple of cabin windows, possibly candlelight, but that was it. He searched out the boathouse on the north side of the lake that burned a light all the time. It drove Leo crazy because it spoiled the otherwise pure beauty of the lake at night. This night, that light was off.

  “You’re freaking me out, Leo.” Kris stepped away from him.

  Although he was aware of Kris watching him, he had too much going through his mind to calm her. He squeezed her shoulder and did his best. “Sorry. I just want to check some things. I have an idea what’s causing the power outage, but I could be wrong. In fact, I’m probably being way too paranoid.”

  The moon was bright and for that, he supposed they should be grateful. He kept a flashlight in the trunk and without thinking, clicked his key-fob to open the trunk hatch. Damn it. Nothing happened. He opened the driver’s door and flipped the manual lever, relieved when the trunk popped open. He felt around for the net attached to the side and found the hard metal case of the flashlight. He yanked it from the net and flipped the switch. A bright beam of light cut through the darkness.

  “Yes!”

  Kris looked confused as he shone the light on her. “Yay! I guess. What’s the big deal? We have one of those crank flashlights in there too. We should have thought of that earlier.”

  Leo turned the light into the trunk. He had a pretty good emergency roadside kit that included the basics, and a crank flashlight was one of them.

  As he dug for the kit, he spotted his medical bag. He rarely used it and in fact, had kind of groaned when his father had given it to him upon his completion of medical school. Did anyone actually use those anymore? His dad had been so proud and he hadn’t the heart to disappoint him, so he’d taken the kit and filled it with supplies. It even came in handy a few times when Michael was playing baseball and kids on the team would receive minor injuries. He had a good supply of gauze, alcohol, tape, a few splints, and if he had to, he even had some suture kits and a few scalpels. Were any of them still good? He knew at work they went through inventory and got rid of expired supplies yearly. Maybe more often. When was the last time he’d checked his?

  If what happened was what he thought had happened, he wished he had a whole mini-hospital in his bag.

  “Talk to me.” Kris took the flashlight from him, turning it off.

  Leo shook his head. “It just seems odd that everything died at once, don’t you think? The car, the power here, our phones, the laptop.”

  “The flashlight works.”

  “It doesn’t have a lot of electronics in it. Not like a laptop, cellphone or,” he thumped the trunk, “a car.”

  “You think we had an EMP?”

  “You’ve heard of electromagnetic
pulses?”

  “I’ve read a few books, you know, thrillers, that used them as the plot, but in reality, wouldn’t we have some warning? This isn’t fiction. Scientists know when solar flares are heading our way. And if we were attacked, who attacked us?”

  Leo spread his arms wide. “I don’t know! I don’t know much of anything, only that all the signs are there. Most likely we’ll wake up tomorrow and the power will come on and everything will be fine.”

  Her teeth flashed. “And we’ll laugh about your worries over dinner.”

  “Barbequed chicken. We cooked enough of it tonight. Just think, you won’t have to cook again the whole time we’re up here.” The joking eased his mind. In the light of day tomorrow, this would all seem like a fatigue-induced paranoia.

  Chapter 2

  “Dad! The toilet won’t flush! Michael was just in there and it’s so gross!” Amy shuddered as she entered the bedroom. “I need to go really bad.”

  When Leo started to open his eyes, sunlight streamed through a window, hitting him flush in the face. “I’ll take care of it. Go on out so I can get up.”

  Amy’s footsteps rushed from the room and he winced when the door slammed. He knew he shouldn’t have had that fourth beer. Still, it had seemed a shame to let cold beer go to waste. He and Kris had finished off the six-pack.

  Last evening he’d dragged a bucket of water from the lake and filled the tank. The kids hadn’t known that without power the water pump wouldn’t run, and without the pump, the toilet tank wouldn’t fill either. Or the sink, or washer.