Breakdown: An EMP Survival Thriller (The EMP Terror Series Book 1)

by J. R. Tate

  Sighing, Alice started up the overpass. It would allow her to get over the freeway and on the other side where the residential areas began away from the medical park. Her legs burned from the steep incline of the roadway, immediately reminding her that she hadn’t gotten any sleep. She was used to it after pulling multiple double shifts but at least in those times, she was able to eat to maintain her energy levels. Right now it was a double edged sword. No sleep and no food combined made her want to curl up in a ball and pass out.

  After she got to the other side, she’d pull the sandwich out and eat it. She had to ensure that there was no one watching who’d easily fight her for two pieces of bread, a slice of cheese and a slice of ham. It wasn’t worth risking her life over.

  The downhill side of the overpass allowed her to catch here breath and the wind in her face cooled her down. She got a good view of the turmoil happening, lending her a different point of view being so high in the air. The Dallas skyline was burning and Love Field airport looked like a war zone. Planes were crashed up and down each runway, not even able to take off. Maybe Jake’s flight had gotten delayed and he never had a chance to even attempt a flight out.

  Smiling to herself, Alice shook her head. They didn’t have that kind of luck. If it wasn’t for bad luck, they’d have no luck at all.

  ***

  Jake hoisted the bag on his shoulder and took a deep breath. The hardest step was the first one and he shouldn’t have looked over his shoulder at the people he was leaving behind. Becky was leaning against a tree, waving at him. Colin lifted a hand in acknowledgment and the remaining survivors watched. Larry gave him a quick nudge and smirked, his subtle attempt at helping Jake not talk himself out of this.

  Turning around, he headed down the incline, his stomach clenching when he took one more glance at the wreckage of their plane, the emblem of their company scratched up but still recognizable. It’d be the last flight he ever took as a pilot with them. The way he was feeling, it was likely his last flight ever. When he closed his eyes, he could feel the shimmy of the plane, the fast decent toward the ground, and the loud whines from the engines as they sputtered into failure. He couldn’t think about that now. His mission was to get help. Ruminating on the past and what he could no longer control was only going to set him back and prolong the rescue of those who remained.

  “For some reason, my instincts are telling me to go that way.” Jake pointed down the hill but the thick forest didn’t provide a good visual of what might be on the other side. “What do you say, Larry? I need your input too.”

  Larry wiped the back of his neck and ran his palm down the front of his shirt. It wasn’t really hot but the humidity was heavy, making his clothes stick to his skin. “I think you’re right. Let’s try out that direction and see what happens.”

  Jake didn’t have enough time to gamble on a wait and see attitude but if both men had a hunch about that direction, that’s what they’d do. Jake couldn’t tell what direction it was - too many trees and hills, killing his internal compass. With all of the issues they were having with gear, would a compass even work? They had the type that wasn’t electronic that would probably still be able to help them navigate, but the chances of finding them were slim.

  Jake’s head pounded and he closed his eyes to try and get control of the vertigo. Walking on uneven ground wasn’t helping. Grabbing a bottle of water, he took a sip and screwed the lid back on. The uncertainty of their future and how long their hike would take kept him from downing too much of it. They only packed enough to get them through a few days, his guilt hindering him from taking more from the group he left behind at the airplane. If any more people died on his watch, he wasn’t sure if he could take it.

  “So, Larry, you say you were headed up to Seattle on business?” Jake tried to make small talk. It would get his mind off of everything and hopefully pass the time on their walk.

  “Yeah. I’m a broker. There’s a training up there that my boss wanted me to go to.”

  “Broker, huh? Hopefully, you don’t deal with stock in our airline.” Jake laughed. Surely it wasn’t too soon to crack a joke like that.

  “We invest in just about everything,” Larry replied. “Been doing this job for about seven years now.”

  “Do you like it?”

  Larry nodded and arched his eyebrow, the corners of his mouth turning up in a smile. “Yeah. I never imagined working in a job like it. As a kid, I always said I wanted to be a cop or a firefighter. No eight-year-old says they wanna be a broker.”

  Jake laughed again. “I hear you. Pilot can be iffy but I never imagined I’d fly commercially.”

  “No? What made you do it?”

  “Well, as a kid I always wanted to be a fighter pilot in the military. Straight out of high school I joined the Army. Didn’t exactly become a fighter pilot but I eventually changed my military occupational specialty and learned to fly. Mainly transport planes and supply planes. And once I got out, this job popped up and I took it. It was stable, which was important since I was about to marry Alice. She was ready to settle down with a family. And the rest is history.”

  “Alice, huh? You still married to her?”

  Jake smiled at the mention of her name. He couldn’t wait to hug her and let her know he was okay. The thought of her worried made him sick. “Yep. Still married.”

  “Kids?”

  “Two. My daughter is going to school up in Boston. She’s a sophomore. My son is an eighth grader. How about you? You tied down?”

  Larry’s mouth set in a hard line and he clenched his jaw. The question must have hit a nerve, as it took him a few seconds to answer. “I was. Ended in a big, dramatic divorce. No kids, so that was the positive in such a shitty situation.”

  “Sorry to hear that,” Jake said, watching the ground as he took steps down an incline.

  Rather than make an awkward situation worse, he stayed quiet, taking note to some of the greenery around them. The forest was beautiful and looked like a place he would’ve loved to take his family camping. After their jaunt in the wilderness, camping might be the last thing he ever wanted to do again. Larry was a few yards away from him and Jake looked up just in time, stopping dead in his tracks.

  “Larry, don’t take another step!”

  The other man responded, his left leg lifted as his eyes widened. “What is it?”

  “I think that might be poison ivy. A large patch of it.” Jake pointed at the vine spread out right in front of Larry. Poison ivy had been his concern since exiting the plane - dealing with a horrible rash would make a horrible situation that much more uncomfortable.

  Larry took a few steps back. “Are you sure?”

  “I’m sure. I learned about it back during our long hikes. Three leaves, perfect shape. That’s poison ivy and the last thing you need to do is step in it.”

  “I didn’t even know. I’m just a city kid. I’ve heard about it but, you know, didn’t really think it was a real thing.”

  Jake checked around them, noting it near trees and growing up the sides of their trunks. There were no trails to avoid it, so they would have to be extra careful not to step in some further down the mountain. Another concern was poison oak, insects, and even bears. Larry had mentioned he was a city person, so Jake would have to be in charge of Mother Nature and what she might have in store for them on the way.

  “Just watch where you step. Snakes, bugs, animals… we’re in their territory now.”

  Jake wished they had a gun with them, and then it occurred to him that he could’ve gotten the one off the air marshal. Not every flight had one but there was a chance. He’d have to dig but having the weapon would be added security. People were also allowed to check weapons in their luggage. They couldn’t have ammunition with them, so the gun wouldn’t be helpful. It didn’t matter now, anyway - they were too far from the plane and they couldn’t waste more time on something that wasn’t definite. If they kept moving and watched what they were doing, they’d likely stay out of ha
rm’s way.

  Reaching the bottom of the mountain, Jake was thankful to see flat ground. There was a winding road with several signs, indicating hiking trails and a campground up the road, as well as a fishing lake. Campgrounds and lakes meant people - maybe they had cell phones that would work and they could call someone in.

  Wouldn’t the campers have heard or seen the plane crash, being this close to the crash site? They were probably a little over a mile away, so it was likely someone had at least heard something. It all felt off and when Jake rounded the curve of the road, he spotted a truck crashed into the guardrail, the front tires hanging over the wooden barrier, stopped just in time before careening down the drop on the other side of the barrier.

  Running to it, Jake’s head throbbed but he ignored the pain shooting through his body. Swinging the passenger door open, he looked in the cab, his heart sinking when he revealed an empty cab.

  “Hello?” Walking to the guardrail, he looked over the edge, but the thick vegetation hindered seeing anything. “Anyone out there? Are you okay?”

  Larry joined him, both men calling out, their voices echoing against the mountainous terrain surrounding them.

  “Something is going on,” Jake said between breaths. “Something isn’t right.”

  CHAPTER SIXTEEN

  Jake continued to yell out for any possible survivors but there was no one around. Larry was a quarter mile up the road and Jake went toward him - the idea of splitting up made the hair on the back of his neck raise. This was more than just a plane crash with no rescue effort headed their way. It was eerie and silent. Everything was deserted – the absence of people was a good indication that something big was happening.

  “See anyone?” Jake asked, approaching Larry.

  “Nothing. I can see a few campgrounds from here but there’s no one around. Isn’t this usually a busy time for campers around here?”

  Jake shrugged and took a deep breath. “I don’t know. I’d assume so with it being springtime.” Glancing over his shoulder, he tried to come up with a plan. The best thing to do was continue to the nearest town. The chances of running into someone there would be better, though he feared that they might not like who they came across, especially if one of his theories came true.

  “Do you wanna go back to the crash site?” Larry asked as he wiped his brow.

  “No.” Jake shook his head and looked over the edge of the cliff, down to where there were several picnic tables. A few tents were set up and there was a camper nearby. “I’d say let’s go down there and see what we come across but I think it’s best to get to town. Stick to the original plan. Maybe when we get there, we’ll have a better idea of what’s going on.”

  “I agree. We need to find the police department. If there’s some mass murderer going around, this is the last place we need to be right now,” Larry said, taking a step away from the ledge.

  Jake didn’t say anything, though his hiking buddy was right. The uncertainty tied his stomach up in knots. There were too many questions and not enough answers. And now that there were people missing, Jake wished he had better protection in case they were attacked. A gun, knife, anything that would give them a fighting chance against whoever… or whatever might be out there.

  They reached a sign that indicated that Jones Creek was three miles away. Jake had flown this route many times but being on the ground was a whole new perspective. According to the abandoned truck they had run across, they were in Colorado… that was if they truck wasn’t from out of state. He had never heard of Jones Creek before so he couldn’t guess what state and with the landscape around them it could very well be Colorado or Utah. He considered how long they had been in the air, which wasn’t long. The flight time from Dallas to Seattle was almost four hours on average. Colorado was probably a safe bet.

  “Do you think this is terrorism?” Larry broke the silence, glancing at Jake and back to the ground. It caught Jake off guard but it was something that he had thought about from the moment the plane had gone down.

  “I honestly can’t say, Larry. It’s the world we live in now. Something goes wrong, we all assume terrorism. This could be as simple as a mechanical malfunction in the plane. The campground being vacant could mean several things - it’s morning. Maybe they’re all out fishing or hiking.”

  “But why hasn’t anyone come to rescue us? You know people heard the crash. And the truck… why was the door hanging wide open? I get excited to fish like the next guy but I’d remember to lock up my truck.”

  Jake smirked and kicked a rock down the center stripe of the highway. Not a single car had passed by since they had been walking, which was also odd. It was a remote area but he expected to see a few here and there.

  “I guess I’m just trying to be positive. I hate to jump to the worst case scenario right off.” Jake knew it went deeper than what he was speculating. He didn’t want to admit it out loud.

  “What happened when the plane crashed?” Larry asked, stopping in mid-step as he turned to face Jake, making direct eye contact with him.

  Jake pursed his lips as he recalled the worst thirty seconds of his life. He’d never forget what happened, though he wished he could wipe it clean from his memory like a magnet erasing a cell phone.

  “Everything just shut down.” He spread his hands wide, his muscles clenching at the thought of what they had all gone through. “Computers failed, communication dropped with air traffic control. We couldn’t control what the plane was doing. It was like we were flying with a ton of bricks on us.”

  “And you still managed to glide us down into the forest,” Larry replied, patting Jake on the shoulder.

  “I wouldn’t say glide. We dropped like a bag of rocks. I wish I could’ve set her down gently but all of our systems were just gone.”

  “Your quick action is what saved us. What saved those back at the plane.”

  Jake looked down at the ground, unable to hold eye contact with Larry any longer. He still felt guilty about the whole thing. So many people had died. “I can’t take credit for any of it. Colin helped. And I wish we could’ve saved everyone. So many families are gonna have to deal with the loss of their children, parents, aunts, and uncles. We failed them - as a captain, copilot, and flight crew, we failed all of them.” Jake kept his voice low, almost inaudible against the wind blowing through the trees.

  “You said so yourself - the plane just shut down. And from what we’ve witnessed in the past few days, I think this all goes beyond you not being efficient as a pilot. We’re dealing with something bigger than either of us could even imagine.”

  Jake clenched his fists so tight that his palms ached. He feared that Larry was right. In a time of great technology and discovery, they would’ve been rescued by now. People wouldn’t have randomly disappeared, leaving their truck on the side of the highway. It was a scary thing for all of humankind. He wondered how widespread this was - was it just the west? The USA? Or the world?

  He needed to get home to Alice and the kids. He needed Sophie home from Boston, Dylan home from school, and all of them at the house, prepping for whatever else would transpire. He reminded himself to take it one step at a time. The current course of action was getting to Jones Creek and see if they could find another living human being who might have some answers.

  Larry and Jake continued to walk - three miles wasn’t too far and they should reach their destination within the next forty-five minutes. Jake had to believe that what they needed would be there. Little town or not, someone had to be there to help.

  ***

  Alice made it across the overpass to the other side of the freeway. A part of her was hoping she’d wake up safely in her bed next to Jake, ready to fill him in on the crazy dream her tired brain had conjured up. Things were all too real to believe this was all a dream. Her feet ached from hours on them, her clothes were sweat soaked and filthy, and she felt like she could sleep for hours. Her pumping adrenaline allowed her to press forward - her need to find Dylan and mak
e sure he was okay. Her need to attempt to make contact with Sophie and Jake and know that they were accounted for.

  Sipping on her water again, she paused in front of another convenience store that appeared to be vacant. There were no suspicious people looking out at her, no looters running in and out, and it didn’t giver her a vibe to not go toward it. There probably wasn’t anything left to take but she was going to try. Her bottle of water wouldn’t last much longer and she still had quite a hike to do before getting back to her house.

  The front windows were cracked and broken and a thin layer of smoke hovered at eye level. Alice must have been getting used to the polluted air - her eyes still burned but the coughing had stopped. Reaching for the door handle, she swung it open. It was dark and she had a hard time seeing anything and suddenly, her intuition told her to turn around and get out of there. Taking a step back, she felt something metal and cold press into her neck.

  “Stop right there.”

  Doing as she was told, she instinctively raised her hands up, dropping the water bottle to the floor. The water sloshed around and thankfully, the plastic didn’t bust. Water was like precious gold and seeing it spill out and wasted would be a tragedy.

  “What are you doing in here?” The voice was a man’s, deep and raspy with a wave of stale breath hitting Alice like a wall. She held her breath so she wouldn’t gag.

  “I just… I wanted to see if there was any food.” Maybe the sympathy card would work. Maybe it’d just piss the man off more.

  “There’s not.”

  She looked to the shelf near them. There were typical gas station snacks and items available. Trusting her instincts, she kept her mouth shut. One wrong thing spoken would mean she was a dead woman.

  “This is all for me. Not you. You’re not gonna come in here and take what I’ve claimed.” The metal jabbed harder into her skin, making her already tired muscles ache even more.

  “Okay. I won’t take anything.” Alice’s voice shook, revealing the terror coursing through her.