The Final Homestead: EMP Survival In A Powerless World

by Hunt, James

  “What happened?” Stevie asked. “Why the fuck would they do that?”

  “We need to get out of here,” James said. “They know we’re here, and they’ll send someone to finish the job they started.”

  “And go where?” Stevie exploded, running his hands through his jet-black hair, slicking it backward until it lay flat. “We can’t fucking move!” Stevie kicked a nearby trash can, spilling its contents over the floor.

  “We can’t lose our cool now,” James answered, knowing that he still needed their help to get his wife out of this place alive, and he turned to Zi, the only one of the three not falling apart. “Is there a back exit?”

  Zi stood by the door, watching the front, making sure that they didn’t get ambushed. James was starting to like the woman more and more. “Maybe. I didn’t check.”

  “Go look.” James headed toward the front windows and searched for a car that he thought might work, but he found nothing, save for the soldiers marching down the street.

  Zi returned, and kept her voice low. “No back exit. It just leads to the side alley that dead ends.”

  James slunk back into the building next to Zi, his expression alarmed.

  “What?” Zi asked.

  “Four-man team,” James answered. “All with automatic weapons, Kevlar.” He glanced down to the rifle in his hands, knowing that there was only one viable option. “I go out and distract them. My boy is in that building across the street. Once I have their attention, you get them over here and then work your way south down the street. I’ll hold them off for as long as I can.”

  Zi frowned. “You’re going to hold all of them off? What about the nest machine guns they have planted up there on the roofs?” She nodded. “Yeah, I saw them. They’d take us all out before we made it three feet from the building. You got lucky coming over because you were alone and had the element of surprise. How long do you think we’ll last trying to get the rest of us out of this building moving your wife on that stretcher, plus your son?”

  James cursed under his breath. He knew the woman was right. It was a suicide mission. He poked his head around the corner and saw the gunmen moving closer, zeroing in on their building.

  They had run out of time.

  But while James was contemplating his final moments, wanting to dart across the street back to his son, he heard a strange noise carry on the wind in the distance. It seemed impossible at first, but as the noise became louder, James stuck his head out just in time to see the Humvee speed down the sidewalk, avoiding the clogged streets, and knocking down the small trees and signs that lined the pavement, drawing the gunfire from both the ground party and the machine gun nests. The vehicle’s armored plating repelled the bullets like water off a seal.

  James turned back to Stevie and Maya, finding them at the door, staring out at the streets like they were lost in a dream. “Get the stretcher up here now!”

  While Zi helped the shaking pair with Mary, James started picking off the shooters in the streets, providing some cover for Luis on his approach.

  James flagged the Humvee down and Luis stopped in front f the building, parking the vehicle at an angle to use it as a natural shield from the machine gun nests.

  Luis kept his head low as he stepped out of the door, and James embraced him in a hug, then punched his friend’s arm. “I thought I told you to stay at the warehouse.”

  “What, and let you have all of the fun?” Luis asked, shouting above the gunfire, but the smile faded when he saw Mary being carried out on the stretcher.

  “Help me get her in the back,” James answered.

  Both Luis and James took the stretcher from Stevie and Maya’s hands. Once she was secure, they piled the rest of them inside, leaving only Luis and James out of the Humvee, the threat of gunfire still raining down on them, though it had become more sporadic.

  “I need to go and get Jake,” James said, knowing that the road was too clogged to try and use the Humvee to cross the street.

  “I’lll give you cover fire,” Luis said, moving toward the back of the Humvee with his rifle.

  “Me too.” Zi climbed out of the car with her pistol, joining Luis at the bumper.

  James moved toward the front of the Humvee, knowing that the lull in gunfire would end the moment he exposed himself from the cover of the vehicle. Just a little bit farther and they had a chance. He just had to stay alive long enough to make it happen.

  “On my mark,” James said. “Ready?”

  Both Luis and Zi nodded, aiming toward the rooftops where the gunfire had been thickest.

  “Now!” James darted from around the Humvee’s hood, sprinting back across the field of corpses that he had moved over earlier, but now he was moving with a renewed sense of purpose, and before he realized it he was already across the street, opening the office door where he’d left Jake.

  Jake lowered the knife, shaking as he sprinted toward his father, wrapping his arms around James’s legs and squeezing tight.

  James led his boy to the building’s front, then pointed to the Humvee, which was less than thirty yards from their current position. Less than thirty yards away from freedom. “We’re going to run there as fast as we can, okay? Stay on my right side, close, and don’t stop moving.”

  Luis and Zi continued their cover fire, and most of the bullets were now concentrated on the Humvee, the gunmen now focusing their efforts on the tires.

  “Let’s go!” James stepped from the cover of the building with Jake, and the world around him slowed. He was aware of every step he took, the bodies on the ground, holding his son’s hand. He saw the bullets spark against the hoods and ceilings of the cars that he used as cover.

  It was like he wasn’t running on asphalt anymore, it was like he was floating, and it didn’t stop until he reached the Humvee, shoving Jake inside and then jumping in himself.

  “Go! Go! Go!”

  Luis floored the accelerator, speeding back up the sidewalk, the Humvee rattling from the gunfire, people screaming. James kept hold of his family, waiting out the storm until it passed and they were out of the city. They had made it. Now they just had to keep Mary alive.

  15

  The sun dipped lower into the west in front of them as they traveled down the road, and after the first hour, most everyone fell asleep. The rush of adrenaline that had propelled them to survive the city had run its course, and everyone’s body needed to refuel.

  But while others slept, James kept his attention on his wife, who was barely hanging on.

  “We still need to head to town?” Luis asked, finding James’s eyes through the rearview mirror.

  “Yeah,” James answered, keeping one hand on Mary’s shoulder, her head in his lap, and her legs in Jake’s lap. Stevie, Maya, and Zi had all fallen asleep in the back.

  “What are we going to do with our new friends?” Luis asked.

  James looked out to the passing landscape, hoping that he would be able to find answers in nature, but it only made him tired. “I don’t know.”

  If they stayed on the ranch, it would be a big change for most of them, and James wasn’t sure how everyone would adapt.

  It was sunset when they reached the town of Ruckins, the small strip of buildings in the same condition that he’d left it in, with one minor difference.

  When James and Luis had passed through earlier, the streets and storefronts had been lined with people. But now it was empty. Only the vehicles that had been left behind remained.

  Luis, undeterred by this fact, slowed when they reached Larry’s gas station. “I’ll get you as close to Doc’s office as I can.”

  James turned to the gas station and saw something else that hadn’t been there earlier in the day. A large semi-truck was parked next to the building.

  “Do you want me to fill the Humvee up at Larr—"

  “Stop,” James said.

  Luis hit the brakes at the same urgency as James’s voice, jolting everyone awake.

  “What’s wrong?” Lui
s asked, scanning the town like a hawk, just as James had done.

  “Where is everyone?” James asked.

  Luis shrugged. “It’s late, people are probably—”

  “The ambush.” James’s voice was a whisper. This was the same set-up for the ambush in the city. “Luis, you have to get us out of here. Get off the road, head out into the fields.”

  Luis struggled to get the vehicle in reverse, his nerves just as shot as everyone else’s from the hectic trip.

  “Luis, now!” James roared, his voice snapping the sleep out of everyone’s eyes.

  “I’m trying!” Luis finally dropped down into reverse, but it was too late, and James covered his family with his body as the first heavy piece of artillery hit the Humvee, fracturing the bulletproof glass, but it didn’t shatter, the material able to hold together for the moment.

  Every eye inside the Humvee turned toward Ruckins, the evening light casting the town in a silhouette, masking the enemy hidden amongst a row of buildings.

  Ducked low in the middle row of seats with his wife’s head still resting in his lap, James kicked the back of Luis’s seat. “Get us out of here now!”

  Luis shifted the vehicle into reverse, gunfire chasing them on their retreat. The heavy barrage of artillery challenged the Humvee’s armored plating, the impact sending vibrations through the vehicle.

  “Get off the road and head out onto the fields!” James said.

  Luis turned a hard right while still in reverse, exposing the passenger side before Luis shifted into drive and floored the accelerator as they moved from asphalt to grass, but not before an explosion rumbled beneath the Humvee, slanting the vehicle to the right.

  “We’ve got a flat!” Luis said.

  Bullets buckled the rear window inward, exposing their backside, but as Luis put distance between the Humvee and the town, the gunfire eventually faded.

  James quickly checked his wife’s vitals and then found his son’s eyes, which were wide open, his cheeks pale in the dying light of day. “You okay?”

  Jake nodded. “I-I think so.” His voice was dry and cracked.

  James peeked into the back row of seats where Zi, Stevie, and Maya had flattened themselves on top of one another. “You guys all right?”

  “What the fuck was that?” Stevie exploded with anger, twisting his face into a snarl, his clothes dirty and stained with sweat from the long hike through San Antonio. “I thought we’d left all of those people back in the city? What are they doing all the way out here?”

  “I don’t know,” James answered.

  “Boss,” Luis said, struggling to keep the wheel steady with both hands. “We aren’t going to make it much farther with that tire.”

  The ride was getting worse, but James wanted to put more distance between themselves and the town. “It’ll last long enough.”

  And while the Humvee limped along like a beaten dog, James knew that the only question that really mattered among the dozens that were whispered from worried lips was the first one that Stevie had asked. How did those terrorists make it to their small town of Ruckins?

  James stared down at his wife’s face, knowing that he’d have to find an answer, because he needed Nolan’s help in stabilizing his wife. If the doctor was even still alive.

  After night fell and the town was no longer in sight, James instructed Luis to stop so they could change the tire.

  While Luis grabbed the spare, James stayed in the vehicle and placed two gentle fingers on Mary’s slender neckline. The pulse was weak. And the fact that there was no exit wound meant the bullet was still inside. There was no telling what kind of damage it had done.

  James opened the door while gently resting Mary’s head on the seat, then looked at Jake. “Keep an eye on your mother.”

  Outside, James assessed the Humvee’s damage. Aside from the busted tire, the armor plating was torn up and the windows looked one stiff wind from shattering into a million pieces.

  James stood watch, his attention south in the direction of the town, while Luis replaced the tire. The enemy that had descended on their country was well-organized, and larger than he had originally calculated.

  “Boss,” Luis said, twisting the massive lug nuts on the new tire. “What are we looking at here? You think that the ranch is still going to be there when we get back?”

  “I’m not worried about the ranch,” James answered, unable to peel his gaze away from the town.

  Luis grunted, securing the final nut on the tire before dropping the iron into the dirt and releasing the massive jack that supported the beastly vehicle. He stepped right in front of James, disrupting his line of sight. “How’s Mary?”

  James finally looked Luis in the eye. “We need to get her home and stabilize her. But she’ll need surgery to remove the bullet.” He returned his attention to the town. “I need to get Nolan out of that town. If he’s even still alive.”

  “Oh, he’s still alive,” Luis said, stepping back to the Humvee. “The old man is too stubborn to die.”

  While Luis climbed back into the Humvee, James lingered outside, wondering what the end game was for the enemy that had infected his country like a disease. He had expected the fight in San Antonio, but he hadn’t expected it to follow him so close to the ranch. So close to home.

  16

  The Humvee kicked up dirt and dust as Luis turned off the highway and onto the dirt road that marked the entrance to the Bowers Ranch.

  A wrought iron arch curved over the dirt road at the midway point. James had asked his father once why the arch was in the middle of the road to the house instead of up by the highway.

  “So visitors don’t forget who they’re coming to see,” Stanley Bowers said. “And to remind us that it’s important to meet in the middle with the people who come to visit.”

  James was ten when his father told him that, and it wasn’t until he grew older that he understood the profound nature of his father’s wisdom.

  It was a way of life, an unofficial family creed. And it was a model that had brought his family much success. The Bowers family had been the keepers of over one thousand acres of Texas land, which they had nurtured and cultivated for the past four generations.

  The dirt road ended at the ranch house, a two-story structure that James’s great-grandfather had built and where five generations of Bowers had grown up.

  Luis parked the Humvee as close to the front door as possible, and Zi helped James carry Mary inside.

  In the bedroom, they gently laid Mary down on the fresh sheets, her head tilted delicately to the side, and she groaned as James slipped the IV needle into her arm, breaking the bag.

  Liquid funneled down through the clear tube and into her system, the medicines and electrolytes combatting the effects of dehydration, pain, and injury.

  “I was telling your son in the city that I was in nursing school,” Zi said, staring at the bloodied bandages. “We need to clean her wound. If you don’t want to do it—”

  “No,” James said. “I can do it.”

  James had never been squeamish. He had killed, skinned, and cleaned his fair share of animals over the years, and having been raised on the ranch, he was no stranger to death. But as James cleaned the gunshot wound, which had crusted with clotting powder and blood, and applied fresh gauze, he couldn’t hide the tremble in his hands.

  The area around the gunshot was red and inflamed, the first signs of infection, and James hoped that the antibiotics in the IV would help fight it. But there were more concerning signs of his wife’s deteriorating condition.

  “Her abdomen’s swollen,” Zi said, taking a closer look at Mary. “If the pressure gets too bad, her organs could shut down.”

  Finishing up with the bandage, James looked to Zi. “Could you get the bullet out?”

  Zi shook her head.

  James brushed his wife’s hair back behind her ear. He thought about trying to get the bullet out himself, but this was beyond his first aid training, and he’d do more d
amage than good. He needed a doctor, and he prayed that Nolan was still alive. He squeezed her hand, her skin cold. “You’re a fighter, Mary Bowers. You’ve always been that way. Even when the odds were stacked against us, you always pushed through.” He leaned into her ear, whispering the words. “So keep fighting, Mary. Push through.” He kissed her temple and then stepped out of the room.

  James returned to the living room. Jake, Luis, Zi, Maya, and Stevie gathered around him, each of their faces covered in dust and sporting the vacant stare of exhaustion.

  “My wife needs professional medical attention.” James turned to Zi, Maya, and Stevie. “I know I promised you all a ride to your homes, but—”

  “It’s fine,” Zi said, speaking for the group.

  James smiled. “Thank you.” He took a moment to gather his thoughts and then cleared his throat. “I’ll ride back to the town and find Nolan. If he’s still alive.” He looked to Luis and Jake. “I need both of you to start preparing our defenses.”

  Luis stepped forward. “James—”

  “If I don’t come back, then you’re in charge,” James said, pointing at Luis. “Take care of my family while I’m gone.”

  James stepped outside, the cloudless night sky marked with millions of stars and a half moon that illuminated the path to the barn.

  During the summer time, James let the animals sleep out under the stars. He had always thought the horses appreciated the sentiment.

  Most of the animals trotted lazily around the penned enclosure, either munching on hay, drinking water from the trough, or laying in the cool dirt. But the moment James’s mare caught his scent, she walked to him, pressing her nose into the palm of his hand as he opened the gate.

  “Hey, girl,” James brushed the long, muscular neck of the beast, who obediently followed James to the barn. “I hope you’re up for a night ride.”

  Once the beast was saddled, James hooked a feed bag around her muzzle to keep her busy while he gathered his gear.

  James loaded ammunition into magazines, making sure he had plenty should he get bogged down in a firefight.