EMP Journey

by Miles Maresh

  Mike had to let his family know that the country was under nuclear attack. His wife and children were fearful of fallout if a bomb hit Phoenix. From Mike’s prepping experience he knew that the100 mile distance and the 6,000 foot difference in elevation should keep them safe. Just in case he warned his family not to look at the light when they sensed the blast and to head immediately for the cabin’s cellar which was outfitted as an emergency bomb shelter. If the fallout was not severe they would not have to stay sheltered for long. Mike had a Geiger counter and couple of lightweight haz-mat suits and it was most likely they would not get much radiation at all but he still wanted to be sure. He also told Trevor. Cheryl and Sydney that Dave’s children were younger and may not understand what had happened to their home in California. They had suffered the unique and horrifying observation of a mushroom cloud rising into the sky, something no child should ever have to experience. Mike’s children were shaken without having seen it and they agreed to be reserved and sensitive to Dave’s youngsters when they arrived.

  Chapter Nineteen

  Dave landed on a private airstrip on the land of a friend of Mikes who owned a large homestead outside the high desert town of Cleator. They taxied the plane to a barn and locked it inside. The friend was not a pilot, but knew that Mike and Dave were. Having a working plane accessible and 2 pilots nearby was convincing enough for the friend to store and secure the aircraft. Mike picked up Dave’s family in the truck and took them up to the cabin. To prepare for Dave’s arrival Mike and Trevor had divided the upstairs loft into 3 bedrooms, a bathroom and a living area. All the rooms were well appointed with the furniture from Mike’s Phoenix house being moved up over the last several weeks. With 9 people living at the cabin Mike and Emily decided it was better if Dave’s family would have an area to themselves, especially since their home was destroyed by the strike on Los Angeles. Because Dave’s family had to leave without taking supplies, Emily had taken her 2 daughters back to their house in Phoenix. Emily had stored clothing Trevor and the 2 girls had outgrown. They selected clothing that Todd and Megan could wear now and some they would grow into. Most of the other items Dave’s family needed was already in the shelter and the adult males and females had plenty of clothing from Mike and Emily’s personal supplies. Mike had also finished the septic tank so the indoor plumbing would work. The stream coming down from the mountain was diverted to provide running water for showers and toilets although it still would have to be boiled for drinking. A filtration system was another one of Mike’s many projects. The stream water would also be diverted to irrigate the large garden the group was preparing although with winter coming the land would lay fallow until spring. Mike had installed windmills and his solar panels to provide renewable power once the propane ran out.

  With Dave’s arrival the families had a group meeting to discuss security. With Phoenix being evacuated of its remaining residents the chance of refugees coming into the Bradshaws was intensified. The group agreed that a 24 hour guard would be placed above the landslide where they could see the road and the compound. Mike had already built a small shelter into the hillside where the person on guard could stay out of the elements. The shelter was hidden and could not be viewed from the road. The person on guard duty had binoculars and a walkie- talkie. One walkie-talkie and one satellite phone was kept in the cabin. When anyone went hunting or foraging they were to always go with at least one partner and take a satellite phone with them. Most areas in the forest were out of range of the walkie-talkies and they had to make sure everyone came back if there was a security problem Although Mike and Trevor had narrowed the roads people walking by could still climb over the retaining walls and go up the landslide. There were warning signs visible when they crested the top. Mike had buried plastic explosives in the ground. In a cleared area right in front of the landslide’s end. He didn’t want to maim anyone but the signs stated the area was mined and should not be walked through. Rather than use detonators which could be set off by animals, Mike decided they could discharge firearms into the explosives if the homestead came under a major attack. If invaders did get past the mine field Mike and Dave established a barrier of barbed wire and thorn bushes as well as well protected positions for those with weapons. This would also help to keep the cabin area free from mountain lions and other dangerous animals. Dave wanted everyone including the children to practice using firearms. Diane was dead set against her 10 year old daughter Ruth receiving gun training. She did allow 12 year old Robert to receive training but did not want him in the line of fire if the cabin was attacked. Mike and Dave had also built a smaller secondary bug out location about a mile away through the forest. It was more a shed than a cabin but it would serve as a fall back location if that became necessary. He planned to send the younger children there if a major attack seemed imminent. He set up firing lines with foxholes from 2 positions before invaders could reach the cabin. They wanted all of the children to be exempt from guard duty except for Trevor who was already 18 and an expert shot. Cheryl and Sydney protested that at 14 and 15 they should be given guard shifts as well. It was agreed that teenagers were old enough to help with defense. Dave’s younger children were exempted from guard duty and one adult would stay with them at all times. This left 7 people for guard duty and with one assigned to watch the children. 4 hour shifts were established and a schedule was created.

  Much to the dismay of the children especially Trevor It was decided that all the children would be homeschooled. As a teacher Emily had numerous books including textbooks on e-readers that had been shielded from the EMP. E-readers also ran without a serious drain on the camps limited power supply. Although all the children grumbled a bit especially the older ones with guard duty Mike reminded them that the option was working outside in the cold. The adults all agreed that they could not let their children lose the knowledge that would be needed to rebuild a viable society someday. Mike still hoped Phoenix would be spared from attack and with the military still active the power grid might be quickly restored to some areas of the city. If this happened in only a few years it would allow most of the children to finish school back in a traditional setting in Phoenix or wherever else they ended up. He did not want the education of his children to be curtailed. It was probably more important than ever to not let knowledge lapse. Although Emily was and excellent teacher all the 5 children were in different grades and she realized that just electronic books would not give the well-rounded education they needed especially if the technology of the past was still going to be in their future... Although they only had sporadic Wi-Fi service in the cabin Mike was sure that the internet was still viable and he considered putting up an antenna if it was not visible from the road.

  Mike, Dave and Trevor hunted once a week. They did not want to clear the forest of animals but as a hunter Mike knew that many animals would die over the winter so they did establish a stockpile of deer and boar meat. With the smokehouse back a t camp they could preserve the meat for the brutally cold months ahead. Mike also took all members of the family out and showed them what roots and plants in the forest were edible. As a longtime owner of this property Mike also knew where nuts and berries were available. He sent out his children with one or two adults and sometimes Dave’s children to harvest nuts and berries from the forest. It would not be good for his group to exist on only meat and he was unwilling to use up their emergency rations just to last the winter. It was already too cold to bring in a crop of vegetables this year but they conditioned and fertilized the gardens they had prepared do they would be ready to plant when the snow melted in the spring.

  Dave and his family settled into a routine in the mountains. Having a separate area for each family allowed them privacy although they all shared the large kitchen on the ground floor and ate many of their meals as a group. All the children attended home school run by Emily. The older children also tutored the younger ones. All children also had chores and Mike’s children in particular helped with the hunting. By the time the
first snow fell in November the two families had canned enough food and preserved enough meat to last the winter without dipping into their food preserves. As winter progressed and snow fell the adults stayed around the cabin as well. The kept an eye on the southern horizon and never saw a mushroom cloud over Phoenix so they hoped the nuclear threat was over. With the high elevation and snowfall the threat of people finding the cabin was lessened. They kept up watches, but during major storms they kept everyone in the cabin. Mike had set up cameras in the woods to keep an eye on the area without physically patrolling in bad weather. . The group had stockpiled enough firewood to last the winter and the fireplace heated the entire cabin adequately.

  With little sunlight in the winter Mike was depending on his windmills to provide power. . They did power small electric lights and a power strip for charging all the e-readers and tablets that Mike’s family had protected in the Faraday cage from his house. With little to do in the winter the readers and devices became very popular. Emily and Diane introduced the children to board games they had played as children. Without television or video games not to mention the loss of social media the children readily learned to play old fashioned board games. The adults played cards a lot and also participated in the board games with the children.

  Chapter Twenty

  As Mike had feared the military’s decision to evacuate Phoenix led to a lot of the population heading north especially as the weather warmed. In the spring A FEMA camp was established along the Interstate and the few people with working vehicles started to show up in the Bradshaw Mountains. Although they had narrowed the road many people would just leave their cars and try to climb up the landslide on Mike’s property to look around. Although he didn’t want to advertise his presence Mike had to put private property signs on posts right inside the retaining wall they had built. If they ignored the signs the lookout in the guard tower would inform the cabin and shooters would take protected positions where they could detonate the mines with gunshots. When most people saw the minefield warning they turned around. When the first person decided to call their bluff Mike trained his silenced rifle on the mine field. His shot detonated the explosive about 5 feet in front of the invader. He was not harmed but was shaken by the large noise. The man retreated quickly to the other side of the hill. The man retreated to his truck stopped on the road and returned with 2 other men all carrying rifles. The man walked up to the mine field. They did not see Mike, Dave and Trevor watching them from concealed positions. Dave and Trevor had automatic weapons trained at the men who had no idea they were being watched. Mike had a silenced rifle so he could ignite the plastic explosives without giving away his position. The men stood at the edge of the mine field discussing what to do. They collected a pile of rocks and started tossing them into the field. Mike realized they were trying to set off the detonators to create a safe passage to walk in. They were mystified that no mines went off not realizing there were no detonators. Eventually they decided the mine field was safe. They started to slowly walk in tossing rocks at the ground in front of them as they went. Mike took aim at a mine right next to where the men would be in several more steps. When the silenced round hit and ignited the plastic explosive all 3 men were pelted by the rocks they had been throwing into the field. They were not seriously injured but were bruised and bloody, they limped back up the hill and retreated to their truck.

  Mike’s closest neighbor in the mountains was a half mile away across the canyon and 100 yards further down from Mike’s position. Because Mike’s cabin was close the edge of the steep canyon wall. It was visible to the neighbor’s cabin across the ravine with its own steep cliff. Mike did know his neighbors personally who like his own family were part time residents. It was an elderly couple who lived alone with no other family members. Mike had not talked to the neighbors since they moved up but because of the smoke from their chimney he knew they were there. The residents across the way could see him as well and would undoubtedly know from Mike’s chimney smoke that they were there as well. Mike drove to the other side of the ravine to talk to his neighbors. The entrance to the other cabin was off a paved road and did not have any obvious defenses. In fact, you could see the cabin from the road. Mike knew his neighbors had guns and knew how to use them. However, he was concerned about their age and their proximity to the main road. He brought along supplies to help them defend their place better and offered to do the work. The couple who resided in the other cabin were not concerned about invaders and did not feel they needed to defend their place any better. They were close to Crown King, which had a police force and they had ample weapons for their own defense. They also did not believe society had degraded to the point where people would try to take their place by force. As much as Mike wanted to convince them he could not help people that did not feel they needed it. They declined Mike’s help politely. He was not only concerned about his neighbors’ safety but his own as well. If the other place was compromised invaders willing to take over occupied structures by force would surely notice Mike’s cabin as well, especially if he was using his chimney and putting out smoke which was almost mandatory in the cold weather. Once they noticed his place, it wouldn’t be too difficult to figure out his position off the road. As the only entrance was over the landslide which was not watched full time Mike took to watching the other cabin through binoculars. He knew the other inhabitants by face and by name. One day a group of new faces appeared in the cabin. Mike saw through the binoculars about 10 armed men in the cabin with other men women and children milling outside. His worst fears were then realized. Mike was shocked to see some of the armed men throwing the bodies of his neighbors into the canyon.

  After seeing the men discarding the bodies of his neighbors Mike noticed that they had seen him watching. One of the men had binoculars trained on him from across the canyon. Mike stepped back into the shadows but it was too late. He had been spotted and they were pointing at his location. There was no immediate danger due to the steep canyon between the two locations. Mike also knew that it would take half an hour to drive around the end of the canyon and then there was no obvious access to his location. He also had thick defenses set up and could add others along the hidden entryway. The only other way to reach Mike’s area was though miles of thick underbrush through the overgrown forest to the north of his cabin. Mike went back to the cabin and got Dave and Trevor. The three men planted more claymores before and after the landslide. This time they attached pressure sensitive detonators to all the mines. They felt an attack was imminent and they wanted to make it costly for the invaders. Mike had counted about 15 men and young adults available from the camp across the way. If there was more than that it was going to be a blood bath. Mike didn’t want to maim anyone but he would not risk his family or Dave’s. They made sure there were plenty of signs warning that the land was private property and that the area was mined. Hopefully they would be repelled by the threat and would not try to get through the field.

  Dave moved his younger children to a safe house the group had built in the forest a distance from the cabin. Ike sent Sydney with the children to supervise. She protested that she could help in the fight but Mike said Dave’s children needed her. Mike’s older children and the other adults all set up in hidden locations with firearms trained at the area in front of the landslide. Mike had Emily and Cheryl watched the forest. In case the attack came from that direction. The lookout in the guard tower radioed the group that 2 pickup trucks full of armed men had just driven up and down the road several times looking for an entry. They eventually found Mike’s hidden gate in the wall and forced their way through breaking the wooden wall into several pieces. Once inside they saw the warning signs about the minefield. They conferred about what to do. Some of the men did not believe there were any mines. Because the landslide was too steep to drive they would have to walk over the top and not set off any mines that could bring the still unstable landslide down on top of them. Two men that were the most agitated said that the minefi
eld was a hoax and they will prove it. Despite their bravado, the men carefully and slowly walked into the field, checking the ground in front of them with every step. Unfortunately for them, Mike and Dave had buried the claymores 2 inches below the surface with the detonators right above that but still hidden from view. They had carefully replaced all the dirt to not leave any indication of where the mines were. Mike and Dave had made a map of where the 80 mines were for their own use. It seemed very unlikely that anyone walking through without a map would be able to avoid all the mines. Mike and Dave had little fear that the men would get through the field but they still hated to kill or seriously harm other people no matter how dangerous they had shown themselves to be.

  The men entering the minefield were lucky enough to get several steps before stepping on a detonator. They were going slow enough so the when the unlucky one heard the click and felt the detonator depress he froze in position. He told his partner “I think I just stepped on a mine. What do I do?” “ I don’t know said his partner edging away from him. “I guess jump out of the way really fast.” “This could blow my leg off” the man whined.” His partner just wanted to get away from him. He turned to retreat from the minefield. In his haste he left the path he had taken in and stepped on a mine Mike and Dave watched in horror as the mines went off under both men. If there was any saving grace it was that they went quickly. Each man’s body was blown into pieces. Blood and body parts littered the minefield and the area around it. Mike was not a munitions expert and now realized that he had put far too much explosive in every claymore. About 10 more mines went off, hit by body parts or affected by the shock wave. The area was like a war zone the landslide above released dozens of large boulders which covered the men and sent off more mines. The crew of men had already retreated in fear but they were still pelted by large rock fragments and two of then fell and did not get up. Mike realized the minefield was severely compromised but the remaining men wanted nothing to do with the death and devastation they had just witnessed. They limped back to their vehicles and tore down the road as they left.