Her hands flew to her mouth. She couldn't stifle the tears that fell from her eyes. Her relief was overwhelming, like she hadn't seen Danny in a year.
She ran the final few feet to Danny and gathered him into her arms, crushing him in a tight hug.
"Ugh, mom, stop! That's so embarrassing," Danny said, wriggling free of her. "What's going on? Why are you here?"
The principle stood by, a grim smile on his face. He cleared his throat to grab her attention.
"Mrs. Miller, can I talk to you for a few minutes?"
Amy nodded and turned to the boys, "Danny, go put your books and homework in your locker and meet me back here. Kenny, go with him. I'm going to talk to Principle Barton for a few moments."
Kenny pushed his younger brother by the shoulder, "Come on dorkus. Let the adults talk. You're never going to believe what happened."
The principle's game face disappeared as the boys turned the corner of the hallway, the anxiety showing through his expression.
"How bad is it out there? When I left this morning my car wouldn't start and my cell phone wasn't working, but I put it out of my mind. I only live a few blocks down the street, so I didn't think anything more of it and walked in. The power was out when I arrived here, but it wasn't until later this morning when I saw the smoke above the city that I realized something was very wrong. Is it a terrorist attack?" he asked.
"I don't know anything for certain. I do know that the electrical grid is down and anything with electronics isn't working. There are fires throughout the city, and people are looting. This morning an airplane fell out of the sky and almost landed on my house. It's... bad," she said.
Amy choked up, picturing the heartbreaking look on Dan's face as he watched the plane go down yesterday. He must have been terrified for his son, the pilot. How they must feel... what if that were her child?
"How did you get here, you live across town right? One of the security guards is attempting to repair a school bus, but I would be hesitant to let the bus leave even if we are able to get it running. It may be best to keep the students here and wait for their parents to pick them up," he said.
"We ran. Believe me, there is no way you are going to navigate the streets with a school bus. All the roads are blocked with stalled cars and people on foot," she said.
What were these parents thinking, dropping their kids at off at school when something was clearly very wrong? Were people really that clueless? Maybe she was being too harsh. If Jack hadn't been interested in prepping, she wouldn't have pieced things together herself.
The principle nodded grimly. "Yes, I was thinking the same thing myself. I am beginning to think we need to make plans to feed and house the students that are already here for the time being. How are you going to get home?"
Amy removed the black backpack and pulled out Danny's pair of sneakers.
"The same way I got here, we'll run. The boys will have a story to tell their grandchildren about," she said.
"Is it safe for you to be out there by yourself with just your kids?" he asked.
"We'll be all right. We got here in one piece, so we can manage to get home. I know which areas to avoid on the way back. I do need to prepare Danny for what he will see, it isn't pretty out there."
"Be careful, and please feel free to come back here if you don't think you can make it home safely. Honestly, I could use your help if you decided to stay. Even though there aren't many students here today, most of the staff never showed up to work this morning. We're pretty short handed," he said.
The boys appeared around the corner, shoving each other as they walked down the hall.
Amy handed the pair of running shoes to Danny.
Danny gave her a strange look. "What are these for?"
"Danny, we need to have a talk. Something serious has happened and I'll need you to keep calm and listen to what I have to say,"
Kenny smirked as he and Danny exchanged a look. "Don't look at me, ask mom."
Danny frowned and raised his chin up. "I know what's going on. Somebody attacked us with an EMP, didn't they? Dad said this was going to happen. The power is off, the teacher's cell phone isn't working, and my pocket Gamestation is busted--" Danny said. He paused and glanced at the principle, caught out by his admission.
"I mean, well, I heard somebody else's Gamestation is busted," he said.
The principle shook his head, shooting a knowing smile at Kenny. "I think you just got busted. Do you think we don't know you kids bring cell phones and Gamestations to school? If I punished every student who did, I'd have to hire two additional full time teachers to staff the detention room."
Danny flushed red. Turning to her, he asked, "So was Dad right? Was it an EMP?"
Amy sighed. She was still on the fence about how much to tell them, but Danny had already figured out what had happened. He must have paid more attention to Jack's longwinded catastrophe monologues than she had.
"Yes, it probably was." She knelt down in front of him, putting herself at eye level with him.
"I'm going to take you home, but I want you to be prepared for it before we leave. It is going to be scary. We're going to see some things that are going to frighten you, but we will be all right and get home safely if you listen to me, trust me, and we all stick together," she said.
"What's with the new shoes mom?" Danny asked.
"We're going to run home," she said.
"Why didn't you take the car?" asked Danny.
Kenny interjected before she could answer. "Because the car is dead you moron. All the cars are dead. I thought you listened to dad? Cars have electronics too. The whole world is toast."
"But what about dad? Is he going to come home? Is he OK?" Danny asked, his voice quivering.
Amy shot Kenny a look that silenced him and wiped the smirk off his face. That was exactly the type of fatalistic attitude she was trying to steer Danny clear of.
She lifted Danny's chin with a finger. "Your father is going to be all right. He's very resourceful and knows more about what is happening right now than anyone I know. He is going to be just fine, I promise you."
It broke her heart to see Danny worry about Jack. She was worried about him too, but she had to believe he was all right.
If she knew her Jack, he would figure out a way to get back home. Jack was highly informed on disasters, catastrophes, and preparedness. She was probably worrying about nothing. But still... he was in Missouri... a thousand miles away. How could he get home without a car? Amy forced her mind back to the present situation, the though of Jack a thousand miles away with no way home nearly had her in tears. She had to be strong for the boys.
"Put your shoes on, we're going to go. We're going to go through the suburbs and go around the city instead of going straight through. It is a longer run, but it will be safe. We're not going to stop for anything. We'll keep quiet and keep moving. If something scares you or bothers you, just keep running, we'll talk about it when we get home. We want to go as fast as we can," she said.
Kenny shuffled from foot to foot, itching to leave. To him this was an adventure. At his age, he wasn't thinking about the human impact of the disaster, only that this was more exciting than the daily routine of school and homework.
Danny looked frightened, his eyes brimming with tears as he laced his shoes.
"Danny, we'll be OK," she said.
Kenny rolled his eyes. "Dude. There's nothing to worry about. Pretend we're playing SpecialOps4 on the Gamestation. We're on the red flag team, and our house is blue base. We have to avoid enemy patrols and get through the war zone so we can plant the red flag in the blue base."
Danny wiped his eyes and smiled. "OK. I have level three in stealth so I can be quiet and sneaky," he said.
Amy caught Kenny's eye and gave him a silent thank you. SpecialOps4 was rated Mature for violence, and she didn't allow Danny to play it, but apparently his older brother had flaunted the rules again and let him play the game. She wouldn't call him out on it. If it helpe
d Danny through the experience, that was what mattered right now.
The principle walked them to the main entrance, where he instructed the security guard to unlock the chains and let them leave. He waved to them as they left. "Good luck boys. And don't think this gets you off the hook for homework. As soon as things are back to normal you're coming right back here."
The run was going to be a long one, but she already knew the most troublesome areas to avoid. Danny ran with her twice a week, it was his time to get his mother all to himself, so it would be a stretch for him but very doable.
Kenny would have a harder time on the way back. He ran cross-country, but he had just finished a long run on the way to the school. He was a healthy teenager though, and he could keep up if he paced himself.
"Remember. We are going to move fast. Stick together. The last thing we want to do is to become separated. Kenny, let me know when you get winded and need a rest."
"Try not to choke on my dust loser," Danny said.
"Whatever dork," Kenny said.
Amy smiled. She was relieved to hear their sibling rivalry. If a little healthy competition helped normalize the situation for them, all the better. Their home was a long way away and she needed the boys to give it everything they had.
She picked up her pace and looked over her shoulders, checking to see that the boys were right with her. They kept pace to either side of her. They were both as prepared for the journey as they would be. Amy settled into a marathon pace and put all distractions from her mind. Within a couple of hours, she and the boys would be home, and safe.
Chapter 15
"Water," Jack said.
He tried to lift himself up onto his side but the effort made his stomach heave.
A cup appeared at his mouth.
Cool water.
Thirst. Gulping water down.
"Take it easy, you'll just throw it up again," a voice said.
Shivering. Cold and burning hot at the same time.
***
Jack opened his eyes and squinted them shut against the bright sunlight. There was too much light. His head pounded. Thirsty.
"Water, please," Jack asked.
A cloud of cigarette smoke wafted past, turning his stomach.
"It's broth, sip it, don't gulp it down" a voice said.
Jack cracked his eyes open. A man with a cigarette hanging between his lips passed him a cup.
He lifted his head and sipped at the soup until the cup was empty.
Shivering again, he pulled a blanket up to his chin and closed his eyes, quickly falling asleep.
***
A small campfire burned a few feet away. The cigarette smoking man sat on a milk crate next to the fire, puffing away at a cigarette. He was thirsty again.
"Where am I," Jack asked.
The man looked up at him and tossed his cigarette butt into the fire.
"Well look who's still alive. Good morning Jack. Don't get up, I'll bring you some water," he said.
Jack greedily drank the cold water, gulping it down.
"More," he said.
"If you can keep the water down I'll get you a bowl of stew."
Jack shivered, cold to the core of his being. Colder than he ever remembered being.
"I'm cold," he said.
"You finally broke your fever this morning," the man said.
The cigarette smoking man handed him a steaming bowl of soup and a spoon.
Jack lifted a spoonful of soup to his mouth, but his hand shook wildly, spilling the soup back into the bowl.
He set the spoon aside and held the cup to his mouth, sipping it down. The soup was watery, but it was hot and tasted good. The smell of beef and vegetable soup rose to his nose, intoxicating and rich. It had been a while since he'd tasted beef.
"Who are you?" Jack asked.
"Wyatt Ferguson. Good to meet you again Jack," he said. He spoke with a mild accent that Jack couldn't place.
Jack sipped at the soup, his stomach gurgling in anticipation.
"Again? What do you mean?" Jack asked.
Wyatt chuckled and pulled a pack of cigarettes out of his shirt pocket. He lit the cigarette and blew a cloud of smoke into the breeze. "You've been in and out of it the past few days with the fever. Oh, I reckon it's been four days now. I've introduced myself a few times now, but you probably don't remember any of that."
Four days? He'd been out for four days?
Jack sipped the last of the broth down and picked up the spoon, shoveling in the potatoes and carrots at the bottom of the bowl.
His hunger slated for the first time in weeks, he looked around the man's camp, taking in his surroundings as he became more alert.
A tarp was strung between two trees as a makeshift tent, providing shade from the sun. A tall stack of branches, logs, and split firewood was stacked underneath the tarp. Jack lay a few feet away from the small stone circle of stones surrounding the campfire, in which a small fire burned.
The man pulled another cigarette out of his pack, and lit a new one off the butt of the one he'd just finished smoking. The cigarette seemed to be a permanent fixture in between his lips. He wore a baseball cap, it's bill sharply curved into an upside down U shape. He was the same height as Jack, but much thinner, more lanky and drawn out. His faded blue jeans and worn out t-shirt drooped off his thin frame. He had a deep farmer's tan, the color of a man who spent his life outdoors.
"Well, you really are awake this time, aren't you? It was touch and go for a while there. I wasn't sure if you would pull through or not," Wyatt's blue eyes twinkled as he spoke, his eyes sharp and clear.
Jack propped himself up onto an elbow and was hit by the sour smell of himself. His stomach growled again, a ravenous pit, undaunted by his body odor.
Wyatt stirred a pot hung from a tripod over the small campfire. His knuckles were swollen, red, and nicked in several places. The hands of a working man, calloused and rough, but nimble as he spooned the stew into Jack's bowl. He watered it down with a bottle of water, then limped over and handed the bowl to Jack.
"So tell me Jack, how did you come to be in Missouri when the EMP hit?"
The last several weeks came flooding back to him. Tom. Kansas City. Walking for weeks. It hadn't been a fever-induced nightmare.
"I've got to go. I've got to get home to my family," he said. Jack stood up on shaky legs.
Black spots appeared in his vision, and dizziness overtook him. Jack sat down hard, almost tipping over.
"Sit down before you hurt yourself. You're not ready for that yet, you damn fool," Wyatt said.
"Where are we?" Jack asked.
Wyatt tossed his cigarette butt into the fire and rubbed his hands together, warming them over the flames.
"We're in Marble Hill Missouri, well, close enough to it anyway. Walking distance for most people."
"What are you doing here? Why did you help me?"
Wyatt pointed up the hill away from the camp back toward the highway. A tractor-trailer lay at an angle, leaning against the inside turn of a sharp curve. The wheels were half buried in the loose gravel and dirt, the trailer sat tilted at an angle, two wheels up off the ground.
"I was driving this rig when the EMP hit. My load was a little heavy, and I was running the back roads to avoid weigh stations. After the lights went out, I used up the last air pressure in the brakes and ditched right there. I'm one lucky son of a gun, that could have been an outside turn instead of an inside turn and I'd be at the bottom of that steep cliff right there. The short way down," he said.
"How did you know it was an EMP? Did you hear that from someone?"
"Just because I'm a redneck doesn't mean I'm stupid Jack. I have the internet just like everybody else," Wyatt said.
"So why are you still here camping on the highway? The EMP hit a month ago..."
"I've been waiting. Waiting for you, I think," he said.
Jack's wacko radar went off the charts. "I don't understand what you mean."
Wyatt ga
ve a laugh that turned into a coughing fit, and lit another cigarette.
"Jack, that sounded kind of weird, didn't it? Let me ask you a question. Do you have family in Baltimore?"
EMP Aftermath Series (Book 1): The Journey Home Page 9
