The Incident | Book 1 | They Called It The Incident

by Johnson, J. M.

  “I’m glad you decided to wait.” Melanie patted her husband’s hand. “It would have been even worse for you in the back of that truck.” They all laughed as George rubbed is bony hip again.

  “There is virtually nobody healthy in town. They all looked at us like we were crazy when we asked them if they had any news about the power. Then we went to the police station to see if anyone was there. There wasn’t but just as I walked in the phone rang and I talked to some guy in Vancouver.” Jason paused.

  “And?” Everybody was on the edge of their seats.

  “And…he said Vancouver is up and running. The power companies are fixing lines as fast as they can. The police and military are getting ready to move in and set up relief stations.” They all began to talk at once, but Jason held up his hand. “But remember where we are. It’s over six hundred miles. It’ll be a long time before they get to us. We still need to look after ourselves.”

  “We need to go home.” Tom looked at Adnan. “We need to go home and see how our families are.” Adnan nodded in agreement.

  “Now we have wheels, “Jason told them, “I’ll drive you. We can be there in a couple of hours, depending on the roads. I’m hoping that as we get closer to Prince George they will have been cleared.”

  “But what happened?” Irma cried. “They just can’t pretend that everything is back to normal with no explanation. What happened?”

  “It was an accident.”

  “An accident?” Stella’s voice was shrill. “An accident that killed thousands, maybe millions of people.?”

  “An accident.”

  “Have you heard of HAARP?” asked Jason.

  “That old conspiracy theory?” said Monica. “We talked about that a couple of months back.”

  Jason shook his head. “Apparently it’s real. The conspiracy theory was that the government was trying to control the weather or something. But it actually is a satellite array, which the American government uses to analyze the ionosphere. At least that’s what they said. What the guy on the phone told me is that when they were shooting lasers into the sky, somehow it caused a huge flare, almost like a solar flare, and POOF! No power. And it wasn’t just North America. It was worldwide.”

  Monica shook her head and held tight to her son.

  “An accident!”

  “Yep. A massive accident.” Jason grinned wryly. “Oh, and for what it’s worth, the USA has apologized to the world for this terrible incident.”

  Everybody was silent as they digested this.

  After a moment, Tony snorted and stood up. “An incident!”

  “Well come on everybody. We can’t sit here worrying. We still need wood for the stove and meat for the pot. Let’s get busy.”

  EPILOGUE

  Tony and Irma rocked gently and watched as their small grandson chased a butterfly around the yard. If she turned her head, Irma could see her son and his wife bent over in the garden. Tom and Adnan could be heard behind the house, arguing over who was going to look after the puppy.

  She smiled at her husband and he said, “I feel you looking at me.” He opened one eye. “What are you thinking?”

  “Oh, you know what I’m thinking.” She gave his knee a gentle slap. “You always do.”

  He laughed and closed his eye again. “You’re thinking that we were very lucky. Here we are with our family all around us.”

  He sat up straight and continued softly. “It’s too bad Tom and Adnan couldn’t find their parents though.”

  Now it was Irma’s turn to close her eyes.

  “Yes, I know. We did all we could and Jason and George even went door to door in their neighbourhood looking for them, but they have disappeared. Like so many others.” She sighed.

  “Well, he did find the puppy and her dam in one of the abandoned houses. Against all odds, she managed to get through the winter.” He grinned. “The boys do love that dog.” He glanced down at the collie at his feet.

  “She needs a better name than ‘mommy’ though.” Irma laughed just as the phone gave a shrill ring. “That’ll be Stella.” She said. “They are happy to be back in their own house, but I think she’s lonesome over there since the motorcycle gang left.” She gave him a nudge with her foot. “While I’m talking to her, why don’t you light the fire?”

  “Okay.” He struggled to his feet. The winter had been hard and he was feeling every year of his seventy. “I’ll be glad when the power is back on and we don’t have to depend on wood anymore.”

  “There still won’t be any propane.” His wife pointed out. “It might be years before it’s being delivered up here in the bush.”

  “You can get George to help you get more wood when he and Melanie get back from town.” She called over her shoulder. “Hi, Stella.” Her voice grew softer and Tony made his way to the edge of the verandah.

  Jason waved at him from the garden and he waved back. He could see Jack running across the yard, calling for Tom and Adnan, his big brothers.

  He sighed again, then smiled. It would be another hard year coming up, but they were all together. He leaned down and picked one of the roses that were growing up the railing, patted his new canine companion on the head and turned towards the front door.

  “Come on, mommy dog. Let’s go see what’s for supper.”

  FINIS

  About J.M Johnson

  J.M. Johnson lives outside of Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. She grew up in northern B.C. where the incident is set. She enjoys watching the birds outside her window, especially in the spring when the earth is waking up.

  Check out her website www.jmjohnson-author.com

  Personal note:

  Thank you for purchasing my book. I hope you have enjoyed reading about the Baldini family. If so, please post a review on Amazon or Goodreads. I read all comments, and appreciate the feedback. Scroll down for an introduction to more of the incident’s effects. ”What Happened to Tara.”

  WHAT HAPPENED TO TARA

  PROLOGUE

  Stan Morrisson hammered on his daughter’s bedroom door. “C’mon, Tara. Today is the day. Rise and shine.”

  Only silence greeted him, so Stan shrugged and continued down the stairs. He shivered in the early morning chill. As he entered the dark kitchen, Miriam gave him an enquiring look.

  “Are they up?”

  “Danny is, but Tara’s pulling her usual teenage shit. I’ll go up and roust her again in a few minutes.”

  His wife stuffed another jar of fruit into her basket. “I wish we didn’t have to go,” she said. “If only the lights would come back on and we could go back to normal.”

  Stan hugged her tightly and she leaned against his chest. “I wish we didn’t have to go, too,” he said. “But you know we’ll be better off on the farm. Ever since that EMP, or bomb, or whatever it was killed all the power last month, things are getting worse every day.”

  She patted his arm and gave a weak smile. “I know. But maybe Tara’s right and we should wait a few more days. It’s a long walk to the farm.”

  “It is a long walk,” Stan agreed. “That’s why we can’t waste any time. Besides I want to make sure my parents are okay.”

  They stepped apart and Miriam commented, “I could have sworn I left a bag of apples on the counter last night. I thought we could eat them on the way. We’ll have to pick some more before we go.”

  “Maybe they’re in the pantry.” Stan turned towards the stairs ready to warn his twelve-year-old son about running in the house when Danny shouted.

  “She’s gone! Tara’s gone!”

  “What do you mean, she’s gone?” Miriam turned and stared at him. “Where would she go?”

  Stan ran up the stairs, taking them three at a time. He burst through the bedroom door, the door with the princess crown still on it from when she was three, and stopped in confusion. The bed hadn’t been slept in. Its covers were pulled tight and the pillows were undisturbed. The closet door stood open, a jumble of shoes and bright coloured clothes spilling out.
The top of her dresser was uncluttered, cleared of the usual lipsticks and make-up.

  “It looks like she was packing.” He started to say, but Miriam cut him off. “Her backpack is gone. It was right on that chair by the window.”

  Stan ran his palm over his bearded chin. “That crazy girl. She’s probably hiding somewhere, hoping we’ll change our minds about going to my parent’s farm.” He reached for his wife’s hand, but she had moved to the closet and was surveying its contents.

  “Typical teenager. Nearly the end of September and she’s wearing sandals.” She rummaged through the mess on the floor, then pulled one of the dresser drawers open “I don’t know what she was thinking.” She continued. “None of her sweaters have been packed, but she took her bathing suit.” Her voice faded and Stan stepped closer.

  He reached for her hand but was interrupted by Danny thundering back up the stairs. “Her coat is gone,” he reported. “And her winter boots.”

  All three of them gazed out the window at the late fall flowers blooming through stalks of uncut grass. A few leaves on the birch tree across the street showed a touch of gold. Winter was not far away in Northern B.C. Even in mid-September, it was already knocking at the door.

  Miriam swallowed the lump that was forming in her throat. “Why would she take her coat and boots and leave her sweaters?” She slammed the drawer closed. “Doesn’t she know how worried we’ll be?”

  “She can’t have gone far.” Stan rubbed his chin thoughtfully. “I’ll go look around the neighbourhood. Danny, you get on your bike and check with all her friends. Somebody will have seen her.”

  Danny nodded. “I’ll try, Dad, but most of her friends have already left town. Everybody’s running South.”

  “Yeah, I know.” His dad patted his shoulder. “That’s what we’re trying to do too. Do your best, son.”

  “I should have paid more attention.” Miriam said softly “Obviously she was more upset than we thought.”

  Stan grunted. “Oh, I think we knew how she felt. I think the whole neighbourhood knew after that screaming match you two had.”

  “She’s scared.” Tears came to Miriam’s eyes. “That’s all. If I hadn’t been so busy, I might have reassured her more.”

  The door slammed behind Danny as Stan was shrugging his shoulders into his coat. “Don’t blame yourself, Hon. We’re all scared. Besides,” he gave her a quick hug. “We’ve all been working like dogs, she knew that. I’ll find her and drag her ass home. When your sister gets here, tell her we’re leaving tomorrow instead.”

  Where has Tara gone and what happened after she disappeared?