EMP 1500 MILES FROM HOME

by Mike Whitworth

  After eating a good meal from the canned goods and MREs in the camp, we carefully made our way past the trip wires and ran as fast as we could with full bellies. When you know there are men out there who are trying to kill you that can be surprisingly fast. It didn't hurt to know that when the Boss called on the radio and got no response, there would be Humvees on the way. I wanted us as far away as possible when that happened.

  Julie

  We made it back to the ranch today. We found some footprints beside the road but they weren't Wayne's. They were too small. That was all we found. The road is paved and leaves no trace of wagon wheels when the weather is this cold. Dad says that these chip and seal roads will leave narrow tracks from the wagon tires in the summer, when the tar is hot and sticky, but not in the winter. We have no idea what happened to Wayne. Yeti and I will continue the search, but first we need to resupply and make some plans.

  Wayne

  We made nearly a mile before we heard the Humvees. They were far enough away that we could barely hear them, but it sounded like they were getting closer. Since I heard nothing on the radio, I assumed that the Humvees were either bringing something to the camp or, more likely, the men in the camp had missed a scheduled radio call.

  Soon we encountered the main arroyo again. It was wider here and the walls were lower, but the arroyo floor made for faster running, so we took it. It was now dawn and we could see well.

  Max and I were taking turns carrying Dave so we could make greater speed. I asked Dave what he thought about us carrying him. He said it was sort of like having two human-powered dirt bikes. He also said that only true friends would do this. Most people would have just abandoned him. Max and I assured him that would never happen. Max said we were like the Three Musketeers. Dave said it was more like the two and a half Musketeers. Max laughed and said that considering how big he and I were, that we were more like the four musketeers.

  I was pleased. Cap told me that only tough men could laugh in dangerous situations.

  We heard the Humvees growing louder. We ran faster around the next bend.

  I skidded to a stop in surprise. In the middle of the arroyo, facing us, was another Humvee. This one had a 30-caliber machine gun pointed our way. We scrabbled back around the bend and sought cover in a pile of boulders. By now I could hear the first two Humvees getting closer to us. We were about to be boxed in. We made a dash and climbed the arroyo wall just in time to see another Humvee rapidly approaching. A burst of fire from the Humvee sent us back into the arroyo and to the boulder pile.

  About 20 minutes later, we heard the Boss's voice. "You men are pinned down. Surrender."

  Max fired a couple of rounds in the general direction of the voice, but he didn't hit anyone because the wall of the arroyo was in the way. It appeared to be a kind of standoff. They couldn't see us to shoot and we couldn't see them either. I just hoped they didn't have any grenades.

  Then the voice spoke again, "Do you see that light patch on the rock just in front of you? Well, watch this." As he finished speaking, a bullet spanged off of the center of the spot.

  "Where the hell?" Max asked.

  I looked around and pointed to a hilltop about 300 yards away. "Sniper," I said.

  "Give up now men. I don't want to kill you but my sniper will be glad to. He is an ex-military sniper. He loves to kill and he is good at his job." I looked at Max and Dave. They both shrugged.

  "No way out of this one," Max said. Dave nodded.

  "OK," I yelled, "we surrender."

  "Throw the guns down and walk to the Humvee in the arroyo. If you try anything, you will be killed." We did just what he said.

  We were thoroughly searched, bound, and put in the back of the Humvee, although they had to wait for help to lift Max and me into the Humvee.

  Chapter 13

  Julie

  We have looked for Wayne several times now. We saw no one, and only a few old signs of people. Things are not looking up. I think Dad is ready to give up. Dan says if we hadn't found Wayne by now, the chances are that we never will. I don't agree. I delved deep into The Knowing and I know he is still alive.

  Yeti went to Mountainair with Dan. I am frustrated. All I want is to be looking for Wayne.

  "Dad, will you go with me to look for Wayne today?"

  Dad put his arm around my shoulders and said, "Julie, you have to let this go and get on with your life."

  "No Dad, I know he is alive."

  "Like your mother 'knew' things?"

  "Yes."

  "You know I never really believed she could do that."

  "She could Dad, she could."

  "No, I won't go with you Julie. Stay at the ranch and mourn if you have to. I liked Wayne. I liked him very much, more than I think you know. I think he would have been an excellent son-in-law, but he is gone now, and I miss him too. You are not going to search for him any more, I forbid it."

  I walked away mad. It took me almost two hours to calm down. Usually I didn't let things get to me this way, but this was different. I knew if I was missing, or even if my dad was missing, that Wayne would never give up the search until I, or my dad, was found dead or alive. You don't spend as much time under adverse conditions with someone as I did with Wayne without getting to know them. He was mostly a quiet man, but his determination ran deep. He never quit. I hoped that determination would bring him back to me. The Knowing said it would.

  I could not quit on him.

  I got my gear together and waited. When dark fell, I saddled my horse, and slipped away from ranch headquarters. I rode slowly in the moonlight until I was several miles from the ranch house. The moon vanished so I waited for daylight. I sat with my back to my horse and cradled the A4 carbine in my arms.

  Yeti

  Bill welcomed me back to Mountainair by putting on a feed in the café. The town was doing well it seemed.

  "How have you been, Yeti?"

  "Fine, Mr. Mayor."

  "You look like you have lost weight."

  "Yes Sir, I have."

  "I'd say quite a bit," Dan said between mouthfuls of steak.

  "Bill, have you seen Wayne? He is missing. He wasn't supposed to be coming this way, but..."

  "No, I haven't seen him. As far as I know he hasn't been here. I will put the word out and see if anyone knows anything. We have hunting parties, trading parties, and scrounging parties that routinely venture away from town now. Maybe someone on one of those parties has seen him."

  "Thanks, Mr. Mayor."

  "Call me Bill, Yeti. You are a grown man now. Times have changed."

  "Thanks, Bill. How is the town doing?"

  "Pretty good right now, although we always worry about our food supply. We traded for some cattle and we are now raising our own beef on some of the city land. We also made arrangements with several of the adjacent ranchers to use some of their grazing land. One of the ranchers moved into town with his family, and we found another rancher dead, suicide we think."

  "How about water?"

  "We now have enough water, barely. We set up a half-dozen windmills on the town water wells along with storage tanks. There were three new windmills still in crates at the windmill supply store, and we took several more from abandoned wells and reworked them. A couple of the guys set up some solar panels and car batteries and have powered a machine shop so we can make repairs to the windmills and other things."

  "The town looks busy."

  "It is, Yeti. Our town is coming back to life. Almost everyone is busy almost all of the time. Church attendance is way up. Our sense of community is much greater than it ever was, and people generally get along better. Oh, we have had to deal with a few criminals. We did that much more harshly than I thought necessary, but I realize that times have changed."

  "It is a lot of work to do everything that needs doing to maintain our town, but we are doing surprisingly well. Several old pickup trucks and cars are now running, although we don't know how long we can keep them running, because the gas w
ill go bad at some point. Paul, one of the guys in the machine shop, is building a steam-powered truck. He says he will have it running in a few months. Frankly, many of us are happier now than we were before the EMP."

  "I see that." And I had noticed that as we walked the streets. It made me happy too.

  "Yeti, you are most welcome to stay in our town. All of us would love to have you as one of our own."

  "Bill, if I didn't have Wayne and Julie, I would seriously consider it. I feel at home here and I like the people I have met. But I have to stick with Wayne and Julie. They are my family and I love them."

  "I understand, Yeti. But you said Wayne is missing. What if he doesn't return or can't be found."

  "In that case, I will discuss the possibility of moving to town with Julie. First I want to see if I can find Wayne."

  "I understand, Son. I will help any way I can."

  "Thank you Bill. I would like to ask around town for volunteers to help us with the search. I can pay at least something in trade goods."

  "Yeti," Bill smiled, "I will call a town meeting tomorrow and we tell everyone of your request."

  "Thanks Bill. I appreciate that very much."

  Julie

  Dawn came as I dozed but the warmth of the sun soon woke me. I ate some beef jerky and set off to find Wayne. I went northwest. We had not searched northwest yet. So far we had ranged out between 20 and 40 miles in other directions. We searched the entire ranch as thoroughly as possible and found no sign of Wayne. This time I planned to go 60 miles northeast from the ranch, move west maybe five or ten miles, and return to the ranch. That meant I would be away from the ranch for at least seven days, and maybe as long as 12 days. I left a note for Dad and told him as much without telling him where I planned to search.

  I knew if Wayne were in the area, he would most likely avoid contact with people. I knew how his mind worked, how he would travel, and the type of campsites he would choose. If anyone could find him, it would be me.

  Yeti

  I stood before the townspeople. "Folks," I said. "I need some volunteers. My friend, my father, Wayne, is missing. I need help in finding him. I have some goods to trade, but no other way of repaying anyone who helps me."

  "Yeti, you don't need trade goods," A young man said. "I will go with you, and I'll bet there are others." There were many nods and a number of hands went up. Tears ran down my face. I couldn't stop them. Here I was, Yeti the outcast, Yeti the hated, Yeti the mocked, Yeti the throwaway, and these people actually wanted to help me find Wayne. My voice was lost in my throat. It was all I could do to speak.

  "Thank you all," I managed to say. "I appreciate this more than I can ever tell you."

  Julie

  I rode for two days and saw nothing. It gives me an eerie feeling to ride in the desert now. In the old days we would see dust trails every now and then on the dirt roads, many contrails in the sky, and frequently the flash of light from a commercial airliner as it banked around the mountains to land at the airport in Albuquerque. And off in the distance there was often the sound of people, their machines, and doings. It was usually faint and seldom noticed, but it was there. Now there were just the sounds of nature. The sound of man had vanished. There were no dust trails. There were no airplanes in the sky. I felt like I was riding through the desert in 1842, the year my family settled in the area. Only the occasional paper trash deposited by the wind told me that it was now and not way back then, well that and the A4 I carried across my lap.

  After two and a half days of riding, I found a ranch. I found a vantage point and carefully observed the ranch house. It was a poor ranch. The barn was small, the bunkhouse had fallen down, and everything was in disrepair. I did see a man and woman moving about. I finally decided to approach the ranch and ask if they had seen Wayne. I checked my guns before I moved from my vantage point, just like Wayne taught me.

  "Hello the house," I shouted as I rode up the drive. The A4 was in my lap and my right hand was on the grip. My trigger finger was not through the trigger guard, but the safety was off and the gun was set to three round burst. The man came to meet me. He was unarmed, emaciated, and almost staggering.

  "Why, you are a woman?"

  "Last I looked," I said watching carefully for signs of an ambush.

  He turned, "Hey, Selena. Come out here. It is a woman." The woman came through the front door and slowly walked toward us. She was short, thin, almost as emaciated as the man, and appeared weak.

  "I am looking for someone," I said. "A man named Wayne. He is tall, very tall with light-colored hair. Have you seen him?"

  The man looked at the woman and said, "why I believe we have, only a few days ago. Please come sit with us in the kitchen and we will tell you all we know."

  I followed them to the house, tied my horse to the porch rail, and went into the kitchen with them. I took my rifle.

  "You won't need that, Dear," Selena said. "We haven't had any trouble around here at all."

  "If you don't mind, I will keep it," I said. There was something about these two that I didn't like, but I had to find out about Wayne.

  "We would offer you something to eat, Dear, but we have nothing. My man here had bad luck hunting yesterday and this morning."

  "Sorry," he smiled, "we don't have any guns and it is hard to hit a rabbit with a rock."

  I thought about if for a bit. "I can share some food with you," I said. "I don't have much though."

  "Anything at all would be wonderful Dear," Selena said.

  "Ok, I'll be right back." I went to my saddlebags and chose two cans of beans and took them back inside. The man was still sitting at the table but I didn't see the woman. That was when I felt the gun barrel on my neck. I wondered if this was how Wayne felt so long ago when I put my shotgun barrel on his neck. It was not a good feeling.

  "I'll take that," the man said as he took the rifle from my hands. He took the holstered pistol from my belt as well. "Now, Missy, strip those clothes off."

  "Do as he says or I will just kill you now." I looked into the woman's face. Her look was mean, mean and determined, a classic bitch expression. I did as she said. I left my bra and panties on and they didn't seem to care. The man searched my clothes and took everything out of the pockets. He also took my two hideout guns. "You can get dressed again, now." The woman said. So I did, but when I started to put my boots on, she said, "not those Honey." The man then tied me to a chair at the kitchen table.

  "What are you going to do with me?"

  "Don't you worry about that," Selena said. "First, me and the old man here are going to have a feast on your food."

  "But Selena," the man said, "I want more than beans and tortillas."

  "I know you do, Bert, but the butchering will take time and I am hungry now."

  "Are you going to kill my horse?"

  "Well, maybe later," Selena said. "But you should last us a while first."

  I felt the cold start in the small of my back and fill me until I was actually frozen with fear. These people were cannibals and they were going to kill me and eat me. And here I sat, weaponless, tied to a chair.

  Yeti

  I had my volunteers. I chose 15. About half had horses, or could borrow them. The rest of the horses we needed, I would beg from George. I was sure Julie would help me convince him to let us have the horses.

  I borrowed a couple of wagons and we hitched teams to them and filled them with men, gear, and supplies. Bill had a meeting with the town council, and they agreed to contribute a steer's worth of the jerky that was being made in town now. The thought crossed my mind that, when we found Wayne, he might want to trade for some of that for the caravan. Two days later we headed for the ranch, some of us riding and some of us walking. I chose to walk. It was good for me and a leader has to endure as much, or more, than his men, or he loses their respect. My ability to find Wayne might depend on me keeping their respect, so I was going to do just that.

  Dan chose to walk with me. I asked him why?
r />   "Well, Boy," he drawled, "Julie asked me to look after you. Danged if I don't think you need a lot less looking after than she thinks, but that's what I aim to do."

  "Thanks, Dan. I am always glad for your company."

  It took us parts of two days to get back to the ranch. There was trouble when we arrived. Julie was missing. I read the note she left.

  "Where do you think she went, Yeti?"

  "Let me look at the maps and think about it a while. Maybe I can figure something out. Meanwhile, can you find some horses for the men out there who need them. We will ride out to look for her in two hours."

  "Anything you need, Yeti," George said, "I just don't know where to look."

  Normally George was a solid, stable guy, but with Julie missing, I think he was too worried to think straight. I didn't blame him. I felt the same way, but I forced myself to concentrate; to free my mind of all worry. I had been working on that lately—well, since Wayne disappeared anyway. I knew I felt emotions much more strongly than most people and I knew that my emotions could shut my brain down entirely, just like George's emotions seemed to have done to his brain when Julie went missing. I couldn't afford that. I needed to be able to find Wayne, and now Julie.

  I studied the maps carefully. Using plastic wrap overlays and a fine-point marker, I laid out the areas we had already searched. We had not searched as big an area as I would have liked, but I would fix that soon.

  I knew we needed to find Julie’s tracks, and Dan would be able to do that. But we didn't have time for Dan to search the entire ranch perimeter. I needed to get some idea of where she might have gone so we could start with smaller searches and, hopefully, leapfrog the search so we would be moving faster than she had been. I spoke to Dan and he agreed to try it my way first.

  Ambrose's ranch lay to the southeast. I knew Julie would not return there. At first I thought about many factors and how they might influence Julie's decision. Then I realized that Julie was so worried about Wayne that she probably was not thinking straight either. There was a big opening in the search pattern to the northeast, an obvious direction to try next. I would bet that was where she went.