EMP Journey

by Miles Maresh

  EMP JOURNEY

  By Miles Maresh

  Text copyright. © 2018 Miles Maresh

  All Rights Reserved

  Table of Contents

  EMP JOURNEY

  By Miles Maresh

  Text copyright.© 2018 Miles Maresh

  All Rights Reserved

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Chapter Thirteen

  Chapter Fourteen

  Chapter Fifteen

  Chapter Sixteen

  Chapter Seventeen

  Chapter Eighteen

  Chapter Nineteen

  Chapter Twenty

  Chapter Twenty One

  Chapter Twenty Two

  Chapter Twenty Three

  Chapter Twenty Four

  Chapter One

  Michael Hoff awoke in his hotel bed in Houston, Texas. He stretched out his 6 foot 4, 195 lb. frame. At 41 years old he had a few kinks in his back in the mornings, especially when he was on a business trip. Mike’s job as an independent financial planner kept him on the road. About 4 months out of the year. His high-end clients needed Mike’s help investing their sometimes massive wealth. Mike put his clientele into a variety of portfolios depending on the risk they were willing to take, and on the liquidity of their funds. When Mike himself got paid, he did not invest in the types of things his clients did. Mike was a prepper. He realized that when the shit hit the fan all computerized wealth would cease to exist. Even cash would only keep value until the public realized you could not buy your way out of the lack of food, water, and safety. Mike had spent his earnings on fortifying his home. What liquid funds he had left was invested in gold, with a limited amount of cash that would lose value at some point if the worst came to happen.

  Mike’s house in North Phoenix, Arizona sat on one acre of land. There were neighbors but they were not close by. Mike’s house which he designed himself had 2 basement levels constructed secretly until the foundation was laid for the house itself. Prepper friends of Mike who had construction backgrounds had helped with the building of the lower levels. Mike had also helped then on their projects. Preppers are a tightly knit community that always protected each other’s secrets at all costs. Basements were not a common feature in houses in Arizona. Having contractors or neighbors know he had basements would not protect the safety of his family in an emergency situation. Mike constructed hidden entrances to both basements and the hidden huge water tank in between the two. Both basements were packed with MREs and other foods with long shelf lives. Mike also regularly rotated items into the main house to keep fresher supplies in the basements. His wife and children thought he had gone overboard but Mike remained convinced that the state of the world made apocalyptic events likely to happen whether natural in origin or not.

  Mike also had a bug-out location, a cabin in the Bradshaw Mountains. The cabin was 90 miles north of his house and not as well fortified as of yet. However it was almost inaccessible as there was a landslide over the road to it and steep canyons on 2 sides. With a deep, thickly wooded forest on the other side people were not going to find the cabin by accident. Only Mike’s 4X4 truck could make the trip. The landslide was still unstable if you didn’t know exactly where to drive you would not make it up the grade. Mike planned on preparing the cabin as a secondary location if the city became unsafe. At some point when city residents ran out of food and water, lawless actions to obtain supplies would become common, Mike planned to get his family to the mountains before that came to pass. At any rate, Mike was done with this consulting job. He showered, shaved and headed to the airport

  Chapter Two

  As Mike headed to the airport His wife Emily was waking up back home in Phoenix. Emily was soon to leave for her job as a teacher at a suburban high school. Her 18 year old son Trevor, and his sisters Cheryl 15, and Sydney 14 were leaving for school. Fortunately, they thought, their mom taught at a different school than the one they attended. Emily was 38 years old with auburn brown hair and a striking figure that she had managed to maintain despite having 3 children. She missed Mike on his road trips and hoped he would take a job closer to home he had been mentioning. She had not pressured him, but knew he missed the family greatly. She was not totally sold on his prepper ideas but being prepared was good for the family whether the worst happened or not. Mike had done so well at his job that Emily did not have to work, but she enjoyed her job and was not one to sit idle while her children were at school.

  Trevor always gave his sisters a ride to school. He complained about it sometimes. But he was actually glad to do it. He had a good relationship with his younger siblings and was very protective as he thought a big brother should be. Also, when his father bought the old mustang for his 16th birthday and helped him restore it he had promised to give his sisters rides to school. Trevor originally did not want the ‘65 mustang. It was a wreck when they picked it up, and he wanted a car he could drive right away. Trevor knew his dad was a prepper, but was surprised when he told him that the old mustang had no computer chips, and should run even if an EMP fell. Trevor thought that was all farfetched, but the mustang had quickly been restored to mint condition and Trevor had the envy of all the guys at his school—and the attention of a lot of girls.

  Cheryl and Sydney were as different as night and day. Cheryl was vivacious, popular and although only a sophomore she was a starter on the school basketball team. She also got good grades even enough to make the honor roll. School came naturally to Cheryl and Sydney likes her older sister but she was jealous. It seemed to Sydney, that everything came naturally to Cheryl, she didn’t have to work at all to get good grades. Sydney was studious and quiet. She had a perfect grade point average but worked very hard to keep her grades up. She often wondered if she should slack off a bit and see if she would be more like her sister. However, just the thought of not doing her homework caused a panic attack. Both of her parents advised her to be herself. They assured her life would take care of the rest. That would be more prophetic than they could possibly imagine

  Chapter Three

  Mike took his seat in the first class section of his airplane. Because he boarded early. He went on his computer to look up some prepping supplies on the internet. After Mike reconnected with his family he planned to do some work on the cabin. The plane pulled out to the runway and Mike put his laptop way. The Captain announced they were third in line for takeoff. At that moment there was sudden flash of extremely bright light. It was as if a lightning bolt had flashed through the plane. After the concerned passengers calmed down Mike realized that all power to the plane seemed gone, the sound of the engines had disappeared and even the air conditioning vents had died out. Only the emergency lights were on, but the plane had been about to take off so that was normal. There was no announcement from the captain and the jet sat still for several minutes. Mike began to feel uneasy and sneaked a look at his cell phone. He was sure the stewardess had enough to do not to notice. Mike’s phone was totally dead, just a blank screen. Mike knew it had been fully charged just a few minutes ago. He got a sinking feeling in his stomach. Had it really happened? He heard a large explosion from outside the plane. Along with the rest of the passengers he moved to the windows. Two runways over a jumbo jet lay in ruins with fire consuming what remained of the fuselage, the passengers on Mike’s plane were screaming in horror. Mike realized that would not be the last plane crashing today. “Thank god his plane had not reached the air yet” thought Mike. The plane was still sitting power
less on the runway. Mike turned to a harried flight attendant and said “We need to open the emergency slides” The attendant said “Sir just stay in your seat. The power will be back on momentarily.” Mike said “Are you crazy? Planes are crashing because they have no power” she said “that’s just an unfortunate accident. We just have to wait for the emergency vehicles to show up.” Mike realized she was in denial so as soon as she turned her back he grabbed the emergency exit handle and deployed the slide. Mike jumped on the slide first and the rest of the passengers came pouring after him.

  Emily was 2 miles from home about halfway to school when a flash of extremely bright light temporarily blinded her. The car in front of her suddenly came to a stop in the middle of the street. “Crazy driver” Emily said aloud and changed lanes to go past him. The lane was no clearer as a swarm of cars had come to a stop some crashing into one another. Emily was driving her 1972 Jeep that Mike insisted she buy. All 3 cars the Hoff family owned were EMP proof along with a motorcycle and All-terrain vehicles the family had, all without computer chips. Emily had started to agree with Mike’s assessment of the necessity of preparation and she was uncomfortably aware of what might be happening on the street but she was still shocked it might have actually occurred. She always thought it might happen sometime in the distant future. She swerved around the stalled cars and took another route to return to her house. She hoped Mike wasn’t on a plane home. She needed to get home and prepare for her children to return. If this was a real EMP there were things they needed to take care of. Mike was 1500 miles away but they had contingency plans to handle this situation. She would know soon if he was on a plane or not. If he was on a plane it was very unlikely he was still alive. As she drove into her neighborhood several people standing by their stalled out cars cast her suspicious glances and tried to flag her over. She pulled her car into the 3 car garage and locked it.

  Trevor dropped his sisters at the front of the school and headed to the back to park his car in the student parking lot. As he pulled onto the road a flash of extremely bright light hit the area. When the light dimmed Trevor noticed a car from the other side of the road headed straight for him. Trevor yanked the steering wheel and gunned the big V8 engine in the mustang. He avoided the errant car by inches and almost forgot about the flash of light. Trevor then noticed that other cars were coming to a stop. As he pulled into the student parking lot several students already stood by their stalled cars with their hoods up, scratching their heads. Trevor pulled into a spot and one of the other drivers came up to him. It was Brad Wallace, a student Trevor could not stand. His parents were extremely rich and Brad like to flaunt his wealth. “Trevor” Brad Said “My BMW must have a dead battery, you need to jump start my car.” Trevor realized what had happened and why his car was the only one working. Even though his father had drilled into his head the need to prepare, Trevor didn’t feel it was anything to worry about. He was sure power would come back on shortly but just in case he needed to find his sisters and get them home. Trevor replied “Sorry Brad, you’re car needs a whole lot more than a jump start. It will never run again.” Trevor didn’t know if that was strictly true, but he thought it was probable, and Brad was just too irritating to not take a shot at. He did know that he needed to find his 2 sisters and head home before too many people realized he had a running car. He pulled around stalled cars up to the front of the school again and killed the engine. As his car rolled to a stop Trevor put on an acting job like his car had just died. He pulled the hood up, pocketed the keys and headed for the front door of the school.

  Sydney and Cheryl were eating breakfast together in the school cafeteria when the flash of light hit the school. Although the flash was somewhat muted because they were inside, all the lights instantly died and no emergency lights came on. Sydney was irritated and said “I can’t see anything. How am I doing to get to class?” “Just sit and wait” replied Cheryl, “They will probably come back on in a minute”. Emily then checked her cell phone and was surprised to find the screen completely dark. “Check your phone Sydney. I must have forgot to charge mine” Sydney said “My phone is dark and I know it was at 100%. I checked it on the way in.” The 2 sisters both realized at the same time this was no simple power outage. “We need to find Trevor” said Cheryl. “I don’t think there’s going to any school today.” “Why not” Sydney replied “Surely they will get the power back on in a few minutes.” Cheryl knew that Sydney actually believed in Mikes prepper activities more than the rest of the family did. She said “What would dad say if we lost cell phones and power at the same time? I bet when we get outside cars won’t be working either. We need to find Trevor and figure out a way home.”

  Chapter Four

  Mike climbed up a ladder into the terminal. A passenger that had followed him out of the plane caught him and attempted to engage him in conversation “You’re going to be in trouble for opening up that plane out there” the man whined. At that moment a huge sound hit them as they saw another plane miss the runway and explode into flames. Mike said “You’re welcome to get back on the plane and wait for help, but I’m out of here.” People were screaming and running around the terminal, Mike looked out the windows and noticed that passengers were streaming out of other planes as well. He needed to get out of the airport before conditions got worse. There was no question that most cars would not be working either. If the probable EMP had stopped airliners modern cars that had computerized ignitions would not work either. He verified by running by the taxi line on his way out of the airport. He had a plan that he had set in motion years before. As a former resident of Houston with extensive business connections in the city, Mike maintained a storage locker with supplies for a situation just like this. All he had to do was get there. It was about 10 miles from the airport and Mike broke into a jog. As he jogged along the road he noticed all late model cars stalled where they had stopped. Mike did see a 1970s era truck weaving about the road. He considered asking for a ride, but it was better that no one know what supplies he had or where he was going. Besides, working vehicles were going to become a hot commodity and those who had them were not likely to share. He had grabbed his bugout bag as he had exited the plane, but it was woefully unprepared with what TSA prohibited you from taking aboard airplanes. All that was in his bugout bad were a few bottles of water, some protein bars, some maps and prepper books. Thing he normally kept with him had to be jettisoned before getting on an airplane. No guns, no knives no fire making equipment, and not even rope or Para cord. Fortunately all these things were dropped at his storage locker before he returned the rental car to the airport. He arrived at the locker facility somewhat winded about 2 hours later.

  The gate to the storage facility was jimmied open, and some activity could be seen inside. Mike supposed it was just other people getting their own supplies, but his locker was much more relevant to the situation at hand. Mike was on high alert especially because his guns were inside his locker. Fortunately no one was on his aisle and his key worked in his lock. Mike stepped in, turned on the light and closed the door behind him latching it locked. Once he was safely inside Mike reviewed his supplies. He had a 1980 Kawasaki 500 motorcycle in mint condition. The bike had no computer chips and had should run even after an EMP. Mike did not know if this was a solar flare or a nuclear attack but the motorcycle should work regardless. The bike had ample storage pouches for the equipment Mike would need. He had a Sig Sauer P 320 pistol with 500 rounds of ammunition. The pistol was his weapons of first defense and would be carried in a shoulder holster for ease of access. He also had a SIG516 rifle which fit in a sleeve mounted on the bike. The rifle would be used if he had to take a shot at a distance. Mike was ex-military and had extensive experience in combat situations. He also had a supply of MREs, and lightweight camping supplies. At the back of the storage locker was what Mike wanted the most right away. He had a small Faraday Cage with a satellite phone inside. Faraday cages were just theoretical but the theory was sound. Mike hoped his cage
had protected his phone well enough. His faraday box back at his house had a similar phone which Emily should have accessed by now.

  Emily opened up the hidden door to the shelter in the basement levels of the house. She went straight to the Faraday Cage. Unlike the small box in Mike’s emergency storage in Houston, this enclosure included (and hopefully protected) 2 generators, 3 tablets, 3 e-readers loaded with prepper books and others they could not live without, and a host of chargers including solar and hand crank types when traditional power was not available. The level below the first basement also include stabilized gasoline capable of running generators for months. The generators would be used while they lived in the above ground area of the house. The generators were fairly quiet but with no other electrical or mechanical devices working the sound was evident even from a distance. Most of the shelter’s power came from propane and hidden solar panels in the fringes of their lot. Emily pulled out the satellite phone first. She was still fearful that Mike have been in the air when the EMP hit. No prepping in the world would protect travelers unlucky enough to be flying when the grid collapsed. She dialed the number to Mike’s phone and he answered right away. “Mike! Are you OK?” said Cheryl Mike replied “Yes I was on the plane but we were about to head to the runway when everything died. Is Phoenix the same way? ““Yes” responded Emily. As far as I can tell because all the other cars coasted to a stop. The kids are not home yet, but I am sure Trevor will protect the girls and get back safely. What about you?” Mike said “Well I have my motorcycle and my equipment. I have a route mapped out that will keep me away from interstates and large cities. The 1500 miles might stretch to 2000 or more if I have to backtrack or run into trouble. It might take several days, but I will call you every night at 6:00 PM, Arizona time.” Cheryl said “we will be waiting for you. When the kids are back we will secure the house as we have talked about and prepare the shelters.” As Mike hung up he heard a banging on the outside of his storage shelter.