“I will,” April promised. And with that she headed for the street, turning east in the direction where she’d heard most of the voices.
Three
The man from the Lexus looked up from the phone that had been the sole focus of his attention until he noticed Mitch’s approach. “Darned thing has gone into brick mode apparently. What about yours? Any luck?
“Nope. Mine did the same thing. It doesn’t make any sense. I’m Mitch Henley, by the way,” Mitch said, extending his hand.
“Charles Greenfield. Pleased to meet you Mitch. That’s a nice new Ford truck you’re driving, and I noticed your Mississippi plates….”
Mitch could tell the fifty-something-year-old man was probably wondering how a kid his age could afford such an expensive truck. “Yeah, it’s my dad’s. He just bought it a couple of weeks ago. I had to drive him and my mom down to the airport this morning. That’s why I was wondering about your phone. I need to call them and make sure they’re okay. They should be in Houston already, but I’m worried about them now after those two plane crashes.”
“I’m sure whatever caused those two crashes isn’t affecting anything as far away as Houston, but I can understand your concern. That’s the main reason I’ve been trying to get this blasted phone to work. I was hoping to find some news online that might give us a clue about what’s going on, but no such luck. It’s all really bizarre, I’ll grant you that. First all these cars going dead…. then planes crashing…. the power going out and our phones dying too….” Mr. Greenfield looked bewildered, but he was still calmer than most of those around them, many of whom were in full manic mode by now.
“It had to all happen at the same time, right? I mean, just when I noticed that stoplight go out was when the radio went out in the truck. I just didn’t realize the engine was dead at first because these new ones are so quiet compared to what I’m used to. Whatever it was that knocked out the power must have fried the electronics in our vehicles and phones…. and in those airplanes. Those jets can’t fly without their electronic controls, can they?”
“I don’t think so, no. But you’re right. It’s got to be something electrical-related.” Mr. Greenfield stared at the inert smartphone in the palm of his hand as he talked. “It’s like the way a lightning strike knocks out the power. But whoever heard of a lightning strike with enough energy to take out the circuitry in cars and airplanes?
“It probably could in a direct hit,” Mitch said. “I’ve seen it blow an oak tree into toothpicks, but I don’t think lightning did this. There’s not a cloud in the sky and I haven’t heard any thunder, have you?”
“No. Of course it wasn’t really lighting, but I have no idea what else could have done it. And I wonder how big an area it affected. Those planes went down at least several miles away.”
“That’s what has me worried. If I can’t call, I can’t be sure my mom and dad are okay just because they’re supposed to be in Houston.”
“Maybe there’s a land line in one of those stores you could use. Land lines don’t go out when the power goes off.”
“Yeah, you’re right. That’s a good idea! I got off on this exit in the first place because I needed to find a restroom. They probably have a phone in that convenience store,” Mitch said, pointing to the gas station and store across the street at the next intersection.
“Mind if I walk along with you?” I should try to call my office downtown anyway. It looks like I’m going to be late for an important appointment.”
“Sure,” Mitch said. “I just want to lock up the truck first. I guess no one will mind if we park where we are,” he laughed, trying to lighten the mood and put the worry out of his mind, if only for a moment.
“I should guess not, but if they do, they’ll have a lot more tickets to write besides just our two,” Mr. Greenfield said, looking around as they worked their way through the dozens of stalled vehicles in the immediate vicinity. Farther away, it looked like the same situation on every bit of roadway they could see. The interstate overpass to the north was strangely silent, the big semi trucks and commuter cars alike all immobilized wherever they had come to a stop when their engines stalled.
“Where in Mississippi do you live, Mitch? My wife and I get over to Biloxi pretty often.”
“It’s out in the middle of nowhere. Well to the east of Interstate 59 and Highway 49, over in Stone County. If you’ve ever heard of Black Creek, our land is really close to it.”
“It seems to ring a bell.”
“You would have crossed a bridge over it if you ever went to Hattiesburg from the Gulf Coast on 49.”
“That’s probably where I saw the name then.”
“Do you live in New Orleans?” Mitch asked.
“Metairie actually, not far from here on the Lakeshore. But my office is downtown, right off Canal.”
“Wow, it’s gotta suck to drive through this traffic here everyday. I was stuck on 610 for nearly an hour this morning because of a wreck. What kind of work do you do down there?”
“I’m an attorney. I don’t mind the traffic really. It’s not that bad most of the time. I understand how you feel though. I grew up in the country too, on a big farm in Iowa. I left there when I wasn’t much older than you and never looked back. I love it here in the Big Easy, but I’ve got to admit, this is the weirdest thing I’ve seen happen here. The lights were out for a long time after Hurricane Katrina hit, but we were away on vacation at the time, so I missed the worst of that.”
They reached the convenience store and found all the employees and customers standing around outside or in the doorways. No, the landline phone in the store didn’t work, according to the manager. Yes, they could go in and use the bathroom, but it was pitch-dark back there because there were no windows to let in daylight. Mitch had a mini-flashlight on his keychain though, so he managed to find his way to the men’s room without issue. When he made his way back outside, Mr. Greenfield was waiting by the door.
“You know, this is really a lot worse than I thought it was at first,” Mr. Greenfield said as they walked back out into the parking lot. One of the customers that had been in there when it first happened was talking about a possible EMP event. He said he saw strange lights in the sky after midnight last night, and that maybe it was a strong solar flare that caused this.”
“A solar flare?” Mitch looked at Mr. Greenfield as it dawned on him that this idea made a lot more sense than anything else he could think of. He’d seen a cable TV documentary about solar flares, and how scientists agreed that a really powerful one could destroy the complex technology grid everyone was so dependent upon. A big enough electromagnetic pulse generated by a strong solar flare could essentially shut down all of our power and communication systems. At least that was the theory.
“I don’t know why I didn’t think about that before, Mitch. I’ve read about solar EMPs somewhere, but just never thought much of it. The idea seemed rather far-fetched, to be honest.”
“I rarely watch TV, but Dad and my sister had it on one of the science channels one night and I sat down for a few minutes to see what the show was about. Some guy was talking about how NASA was concerned that we were overdue for a major solar flare, and that if a big enough one occurred, it could disrupt everything on Earth. At the time, I thought that might be a good thing, because you know, no more school!”
Mr. Greenfield chuckled at this, but then began to wonder. “I could see how the power grid and the cell networks would be affected. But man, it would have to be some kind of powerful to interfere with airplanes and car engines.”
“They said it would be; that there would be so much voltage or current or whatever that it would just fry all that stuff and wipe out most of our technology. Dad always said these newer cars and trucks were too complicated and you can’t even work on them anymore. Everything about them is controlled by little black boxes that are really computers.”
“Yes, of course. That’s true. I can see the vulnerability, but it’s so stran
ge to think that something you can’t hear, or see, or even feel could unleash that much destructive power.”
“But you said someone saw lights in the sky last night?”
“Yes. But that was hours before. Nothing happened last night though, as far as I know.”
“Well, maybe there was another, stronger solar flare this morning, and the reason we couldn’t see anything was because it happened in the daylight, and well after sunrise at that. That could explain it, couldn’t it?”
“I suppose so. Yes, that’s got to be it!”
“On that TV show this one scientist who studies them said major solar flares have hit the Earth before. There was a big one sometime in the late 1800s that affected things in the northeast and up in Canada. But back then there wasn’t much for it to destroy like there is now. He said they probably occurred many times before that too, but no one would have noticed the effects back before they had electricity. Now that everything runs on computers and electronics, it’s far worse. This could turn out to be really bad, Mr. Greenfield. He said a strong enough solar event could wipe out civilization as we know it!”
The two of them walked back to where they’d left their stalled vehicles as they talked. Mitch was deep in thought as he pondered the implications of their discussion. If what they were speculating was correct, then the impact of the event would be far reaching—affecting an untold area well beyond the city of New Orleans—and maybe even beyond the entire southeastern United States. It could have affected the whole country, or for that matter, the world. Surely if it was powerful enough to wipe out everything electrical here, it would have done the same in Houston, only a few hundred miles to the west. Mitch could only hope his mom and dad were safely stranded at the airport there, and that they had not been in flight when this mysterious pulse occurred. But how would he know? The more he thought about it, the more he began to realize that there probably wasn’t any way he would, at least not immediately. He couldn’t get through to them by any means, nor could he drive there to see. And likewise, they couldn’t call him or his sister, Lisa, or easily return to New Orleans or to their farm in Mississippi. The one thing Mitch could do though was go home. And he knew he had to, because his little sister was going to need him until after all this confusion was cleared up and the power came back on.
Four
Lisa Henley rarely got the opportunity to spend a school night at Stacy’s house, but she loved that she could sleep in a half hour later there than she could at home. Instead of a 20-minute early morning ride into town with her brother, school was just a short walk down the street from where Stacy lived. What was even better was that Stacy’s mom worked nights at the hospital in Hattiesburg, so the two girls could get away with staying up as late as they wanted. Jason was supposed to make sure they went to bed at a decent hour, but he didn’t really care. He had spent the evening shut in his room with his electric guitar, the amp blasting as loud as Stacy would tolerate without beating on his door and screaming. Mitch could be obnoxious too, but Lisa was glad he preferred to go off hunting in the woods instead of making racket at home like Stacy’s older brother.
Even though they had to put up with Jason, it was great fun for Lisa to get a break from her routine and spend the night hanging out with Stacy. They stayed up until nearly 2 a.m., talking and watching TV shows her mom and dad would never allow her to see at home. Both of them were up in time to get ready for school though, and even Jason finally emerged after Stacy’s relentless efforts to wake him.
“I wish I could just stay here the rest of the week,” Lisa told Stacy, as they sat at the table with their bowls of cereal.
“I don’t see why you can’t. Your mom and dad won’t be back until Friday. Why do they want you to go back home with Mitch after school today anyway?”
“So I can do my stupid chores. They said it wasn’t fair to Mitch to have to do them all every day they’re gone, especially since he had to drive them to New Orleans.”
“Yeah, like that was a chore! He gets to spend half the day driving your dad’s brand new truck and skipping school at the same time.”
“I know. I just wish I had my license. If I did, I could have driven them there, and I would have spent the rest of the day hanging out in New Orleans. Mitch hates the city though. He’ll drive straight back as fast as he can just so he can go hunting the rest of the day.”
“I don’t get it. He can hunt any time. Doesn’t he want to do something different once in a while?”
“No, not Mitch. He’s just boring like that.”
“If he can get back here in time to hunt, he could make it to most of his classes too.”
“Yeah, like he cares about that. Mitch would have already quit school if Mom and Dad would let him. You know that.”
“Has Mom called this morning?” Jason asked as he came in the kitchen to get his breakfast, his hair still wet from the shower.
“No, but she ought to be here any minute now. It’s almost a quarter ’til eight.”
“I hope so. I need to borrow ten bucks from her. Mr. Calloway is going to Hattiesburg after music class today and he said he would pick up a set of strings for me if I gave him the money.”
“Mom’s gonna say you don’t need them. Why do you need them? The ones you’ve got sounded like they were working last night.”
“They’re dead, that’s why. Bending the notes playing lead wears them out.”
“Yeah, whatever.”
Stacy wasn’t impressed with her brother’s playing, and after hearing his latest efforts last night, Lisa could see why. It was the same old Led Zeppelin song over and over for what must have been hours, never quite right, but loud enough that there was no escaping it in the small wood-frame house.
Five more minutes passed by the time they were done with breakfast and Stacy’s mom still wasn’t home. There wasn’t enough time to wait any longer since it appeared they were going to have to walk to school, so Jason locked the house, grumbling about not having the extra ten bucks he needed.
“I can loan it to you,” Lisa said. “But you’re going to have to pay me back tomorrow. I’ve got just enough lunch money to last me through Friday.” She handed him the money and Jason stuck it in his pocket before trying to call their mom again as they walked.
“Hey, this is weird! My phone just shut down right when I tried to make a call.”
“Probably because you forgot to charge it,” his little sister said.
“I didn’t forget. It had a full battery just before we left the house.”
“Did you try turning it back on?” Lisa asked.
“Of course I did. I’m not stupid! I’m still trying now. Nothing’s happening though.”
“I guess you’re out of luck then. Maybe it’ll come back on by itself later.”
“Yeah, it could be doing an automatic update or something,” Lisa said. She didn’t have her own phone, because her mom and dad didn’t think she needed one until she was old enough to drive. Stacy’s mom felt the same. Both of them had older brothers who did carry phones and if they were anywhere they might need to call home from, they were likely with their brothers or another adult.
As they made their way closer to the school, walking along the main road where the parents who drove their children dropped them off, Lisa noticed several vehicles stopped in random places in the middle of the road. People were getting out of them and there were also more students than usual standing around outside the building when it was time to get to class. As they got closer, they could see even more students coming out and none going inside. Something out of the ordinary was going on.
“Hey what’s up, Michael?” Jason asked, when they were close enough to call out to one of his friends.
“The lights just went out; right after I got here. Looks like there won’t be any first period class today, man!”
“Dang it! I could’ve slept in! I wish I’d known sooner!”
Lisa and Stacy left Jason there talking to Michael and some
more of his friends and walked the rest of the way to the sidewalk where some of their own classmates were gathered. It only took a few minutes to learn that the problem was bigger than just an ordinary power outage. Everyone they talked to who had a cell phone said that theirs had suddenly shut down, just like Jason’s did. And the stalled cars and pickups on the road out front went dead at the same time. The teachers and other adults outside didn’t have an explanation for it, and seemed just as confused and surprised as the students. The power went out fairly often at her house and even here at the school when there were bad thunderstorms, but it was a clear, sunny morning today, and Lisa didn’t see how it could be weather related. No one else seemed to know either. Lisa saw her science teacher talking to the principle outside of his office, and urged Stacy to go with her to ask him if he had any ideas.
“Maybe Mr. Smith will know what happened,” she said.
“I hope so. I just heard Cara Anderson saying something crazy about how aliens might have caused it. She said there were weird lights in the sky last night, and that her brother thinks they were UFOs. He said if aliens were attacking the Earth, they would probably do something just like this; use some kind of force to zap all our electronic devices and vehicles so we’ll be helpless.”
“That sounds like something from a stupid B movie. Her brother watches too much cable TV.”
“Maybe. But this is really weird, don’t you think?”
“Of course it is. But there’s got to be an explanation. I’ll bet Mr. Smith has an idea. He knows so much about everything.”
They stood patiently waiting until their teacher finished his conversation with the principle, then Lisa asked him what he thought had happened.
“I don’t have enough information yet to know for sure, but I’m afraid this could be the result of a strong electromagnetic pulse. There’s really nothing else that would explain it.”
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