Jack wasn’t sure why, but there was an uncanny feeling deep in his core that they were not alone. He almost thought that he’d seen a face peering through the window—had that been what had woken him up, or was it merely a ghostly vestige of a nightmare? He peered around him, searching for signs of any people nearby. His heart was beating fast, and his mouth was dry; why did he feel fear and anxiety creeping through his veins if nobody was there? Was he starting to lose his mind? Was his imagination conjuring up mystery men on snowmobiles, who came and stared through the windows of his vehicle while he was sleeping?
Just as he was beginning to relax, he saw it: a flash of red up ahead, stark against the endless white of the snow-covered landscape. It was a brief flare of bright color, and the glimpse he caught was so short that he almost thought that he’d imagined it. The snowfall had been getting steadily heavier since he’d woken up. It now obscured any clarity of vision he may have had, so when he raised his binoculars to his eyes and peered through them at the area where he’d seen the flash of red, all he could see was a frustrating white blur of falling snow.
He opened the door, though, and stepped out into the frigid cold, shivering against its glacial iciness with his gun in his hand and his binoculars around his neck. And as soon as he got out of the car, he heard it: the distant roar of a snowmobile accelerating away. He looked down and gasped. Even though the snowfall was heavy, it wasn’t falling fast enough to cover up what he saw before him: two sets of footprints.
There had been two of them, men judging from the prints' size, and they had walked all around the Humvee, looking through each of the windows. A shudder of dread rippled through Jack, and he felt slightly sick, knowing that two strangers had been circling their Humvee while they had slept, like wolves skulking around a campsite in the darkness.
The cold was eating through his clothing and biting through his skin, so after walking a few yards out into the snow, he hastily headed back to the Humvee. He knew that they were relatively safe in it because of the bulletproofing and the fact that they kept the doors locked all the time. But even so, it was deeply unsettling to know that strangers were watching them—strangers who were bold enough to come right up to the vehicle and stare in at them while they slept.
Then, just as he was about to open the door, he saw them. They were almost completely buried, but he noticed them standing upright in the snow a yard or so in front of the Humvee: four bullets, deliberately placed there.
25
“What do you think it means?” Kate asked, staring at the four bullets in Jack’s hand.
“I have no doubt that it’s a deliberate threat. Four of us, four bullets, these creeps sneaking around our car while we slept … This was a message from them; I’m sure of it.”
“What do you think they want, Dad?” Susan asked, looking worried.
“They probably want us to turn around and go back where we came from,” Jack answered.
“Maybe they’re just folks from town trying to protect their homes,” Kate suggested.
“They looked in the car, Kate,” Jack said, “and they must have got a good look at our faces. We know almost everyone there, so if these people were from town, why would they be making threats against people they recognized? No, I don’t think these are people we’ve seen before because it’s obvious that they don’t recognize us. If they did, they wouldn’t be doing this.”
“What are we gonna do?” Susan asked.
Nick was the only one who hadn’t spoken thus far, but that was not because he didn’t have an opinion on this matter. Instead, it was because he could hardly speak. He was sweating and shivering, caught in the grip of a terrible fever, and only half-conscious. Kate and Susan had gotten him to sip on some Gatorade, but he had no appetite and refused to eat. While everyone else was speaking, Jack watched Nick, and the more closely he observed him, the more he began to realize that Nick’s condition was even worse than he’d thought.
“We go on,” Jack said determinedly. “We have no other option. We keep our eyes and ears open and our guns ready, and we go on. I don’t know who these clowns are or how many of them there are, but I’m not going to allow them to intimidate me with cheap tricks. Behind us is only death and misery; a chance for a new life and safe haven among all this madness is what lies ahead, and I won’t allow a couple of goons on snowmobiles to force us off that course.”
“Do you think they knew about the EMP?” Susan asked. “How come their snowmobiles are running?”
“I doubt it,” Jack answered. “Plenty folks out here still have old snowmobiles from the 70s, and those won’t have been affected by the EMP. Whether these weirdos had them already or stole them from someone else, I’m not sure. I know Arthur has one or two at his place, in addition to his truck and motorcycle. Don’t you remember, from when you were last there, Susie?”
“I sort of remember there being some old snowmobiles in one of his sheds,” she answered. “But last time I was there was like, two years ago, I think.”
Nick opened his eyes and spoke. “Why’s everyone … talking about … snowmobiles?” he croaked.
“We’re just talking about the place we’re going to,” Jack said. He didn’t want to mention the sinister strangers and the four bullets and get Nick more stressed and worried than he already was.
“Oh … cool,” Nick said, trying to wear a weak smile on his pallid, sweat-drenched face. “Tell me … about … this place.”
Susan, whose feelings for Nick had only intensified, was eager to speak. “It’s my uncle’s place,” she explained, happy to have an excuse to talk to Nick. “He lives on some land deep in the woods, far away from any other people, and it’s like, totally off-grid. He pretty much lives like a pioneer from the old days, living off the land without electricity or anything. People in town think he’s crazy, but he’s one of the kindest, sweetest people you’ll ever meet. And he’s like, super smart. He was going to be a surgeon, but he just like, gave up on society. He doesn’t like computers and technology and all that stuff and said he wanted to live a more authentic lifestyle. We only visit him once a year, but I love going out there. It’s so beautiful. You’ll see when we get there.”
Nick gave a weak nod and tried to broaden his smile but only succeeded in coughing feebly.
“Yeah,” Jack said as he started to drive again, “my brother is quite a character, Nick. He’s unlike anyone you’ll ever meet; I promise you that. And the land his cabin on is spectacular. You’ll see when we get there.” He turned and flashed a smile at Nick, but at this stage, he wasn’t even sure if Nick would make it. His condition seemed to be deteriorating by the hour.
“Sounds … good,” Nick murmured. He closed his eyes and drifted off into a fitful slumber, shivering almost violently as the fever gripped him ever tighter.
“We have to get him to Arthur,” Kate said softly, staring at Nick with a look of concern on her face.
“I know,” Jack said. The wind was starting to howl again, and the snowfall was growing steadily heavier, and with it, visibility was decreasing, forcing him to slow down to an agonizingly lethargic crawl. “I just wish this damn blizzard would let up long enough for us to get to town.”
“Do you think we can afford to stop at your parents’ house?” Kate asked.
“I want to make sure they’re okay. We’ll say a quick hello, check on them, then we’ll go straight to Arthur’s place after that. There’ll be plenty of time to catch up with them once we get Nick healed up.”
“Do you think they’re okay?” Susan asked, sounding worried. “Do you think the town’s okay?”
Jack shook his head, grimly. “It’s really hard to say, Susie,” he said. “My mom and dad, they’re survivors for sure. They might have even gone out to Arthur’s place when the EMP hit. Everyone in town is a lot more self-sufficient than anyone back in the city, but even so, most of ‘em rely on technology of some sort to survive. The EMP won’t have devastated their lives as wholly and utterly as it d
id to the city folk, but it would definitely have turned their lives upside down. The good thing is, there’s a real sense of community there. People will be getting together and helping each other out, which is the opposite of a lot of what’s no doubt happening in the city right now, where people are probably holing up, locking themselves away, and being suspicious of everyone else, and hoarding whatever supplies they have.”
“And you don’t think people in town will be doing that?” Susie asked.
“I can’t give you a definite answer on that, Susie,” Jack said. “I’d trust the townsfolk a lot more than I’d trust most people in the city, but even so, in an unprecedented disaster like this … it’s hard to predict how people are going to act and what they’re going to do.” He was trying to remain at least somewhat optimistic and hopeful, but his thoughts kept drifting back to the mystery men on the snowmobile and the clear and sinister threat they’d left in the form of the four bullets. He had to wonder whether he was leading his family into a trap or ambush, but there was no other option for them at this point. There was no going back; only death and destruction lay where they’d come from. He could only hope it did not await them where they were going.
It was in the late afternoon that they finally reached the familiar outskirts of the town. When they got within a few miles of town, they began to see vehicles abandoned on the roads. It was impossible to tell whether they were cars, trucks, or SUVs since they were all piled over with snow. The town was in a small valley surrounded by minor mountain peaks, and as they drove into the valley, they began to see an increasing volume of abandoned cars. As for signs of life from the town, though, there was nothing. The snowfall lightened enough that they were able to see at least some of the town. There wasn’t a single light burning anywhere, nor any trails of smoke indicating that fires were burning in anyone’s fireplaces. From what they could see, the place appeared to be a ghost town.
“I don’t like the look of this,” Jack muttered as they got into the outskirts of the town.
They passed one house where the door was wide open, and snow was piled up inside the hallway. It looked as if the place had been abandoned in a hurry. Then, as they drove deeper in, they saw two suspicious-looking mounds of snow on the side of the road. Everyone was thinking the same thing, but nobody dared to vocalize their thoughts: it looked like there might be human bodies buried under those mounds.
“Jack, I, I think something terrible might have happened here,” Kate murmured, staring in horror at the two mounds.
“Get out your guns and keep ‘em where you can reach ‘em quickly,” Jack said. His senses were now on full alert, and he was keeping his eyes and ears peeled for signs of danger.
They passed another house that also seemed to have been hurriedly abandoned, but there was a sign of violence that could not be ignored on this one. On the front porch, which was piled high with snow, blood splatter lined the white wall. It appeared as if someone had been shot there.
“Dad, I’m getting scared,” Susan said, staring with horror at the blood sprayed all over the wall.
“It’s okay, Susie,” Jack said, doing his best to reassure her and sound confident, even though he just as spooked out as the rest of them. “It’s all right.”
A small river flowed through the town, and part of the route into town ran alongside the river, following its course. It was as Jack turned onto that stretch of road that he saw it: a big truck, the entire body on fire, as well as the bed, which was filled with burning logs, which came barreling out of a driveway just to their right. He punched the gas, and everyone screamed as they caught sight of the huge flaming projectile hurtling toward them. However, Jack’s reaction was too late and the truck was moving too fast, and there was no way to avoid it. It smashed with a tremendous impact into the side of the Humvee. The Humvee plunged and rolled down the steep riverbank, completely out of control, before crashing with a mighty splash into the black, icy water of the river.
26
The river wasn’t particularly large, but it certainly was deep enough to submerge the entire Humvee and completely incapacitate it. Either way, the four of them wouldn’t be traveling any farther in the SUV because it was belly-up and they were upside down inside it, scrambling to get out of their seatbelts.
Jack knew that the burning truck had been no accident. They were under attack, and their lives were at risk. They were safe from gunfire now, but how long would they stay safe? Water was already starting to fill the interior of the vehicle. The leak was slow, but in maybe half an hour or twenty minutes, the vehicle's interior would certainly be filled. His heart was pounding, and his mind was racing from the shock of what had just happened, but he managed to force any thoughts of panic out of his head and focus on keeping cool under the immense stress and pressure of this terrible situation.
“Is everyone okay?” he yelled, unclipping his seatbelt and easing himself onto the roof, where he shifted into a crouched position.
“My neck,” Kate groaned. “I think I pulled a muscle … but I’m mostly okay.” She had hit her head during the roll and was feeling slightly disoriented.
“I’m a little bruised, but I’m okay,” Susan said from the back. The impact and the rolling had thrown around her.
“What’s happening?” Nick groaned, looking around in bleary-eyed confusion. He had hit his head against the window when the truck had smashed into them, and the impact had dazed him.
“We have to get out of here,” Jack said calmly, although there was an unmistakable tone of urgency in his voice. “And we don’t have very long to do it. Make sure the waterproof backpacks are sealed up tight, put ‘em on, sling your rifles over your shoulders, and get your handguns out. We’re going to have to fight, and it’s not going to be easy.”
“Why not the rifles, Dad?” Susan asked, feeling a fresh gush of alarm and raw fear, which only intensified the terror and shock she was already fighting through after the horror of the burning truck attack and the subsequent crash into the river.
“We’re going to have to swim out of here, and it’s not a good idea to fire AR-15s right after they’ve been submerged,” Jack answered, crawling along the roof to get to the baggage. “We’ll be okay with the pistols, though, since they’re all Glocks.”
“Who are these people?” Kate gasped, now that her temporary trance of disorientation had worn off. “They’re trying to kill us. Oh my God, they’re trying to kill us!”
“Where am I, what’s going on?” Nick groaned, still dazed and only half-conscious. This was partly due to the impact of his head on the window, but also due to the fever and delirium caused by the raging infection in his ear.
Jack realized that Nick, unfortunately, would be next to useless in the coming fight, but even so, he knew he couldn’t abandon the young man. Survival, he had always thought, was no reason to ditch one’s humanity, compassion, and honor. “Don’t worry, Nick,” he said, reaching over and giving Nick’s shoulder a quick, reassuring squeeze. “We’ll get you out of this.”
“Okay, okay, just … tell me what to do … and I’ll do it,” Nick responded, smiling weakly. In his eyes, there was still a look of disorientation and confusion, though.
Despite the reassuring words he had just spoken, Jack didn’t know how they would get out of this situation, which was looking increasingly dire with every passing second. Once they got out of the incapacitated Humvee and got through the icy, black water—a terrifying and life-threatening challenge in itself—they would likely be greeted by a hail of bullets. He had no idea how many men were out there; there’d been two on the snowmobile he’d seen earlier, but they had probably just been scouts, and he suspected there were many more here in town.
Then, an idea popped into his head. They may be outnumbered, but there was a way that he could strike a mighty blow against their attackers, as long as Kate had remembered to bring one vital thing with her. “Kate, honey,” he asked, his voice urgent, “did you bring those grenades I made?”
“Yeah, we brought them,” Kate said nervously. “They’re in the red backpack.”
“Thank God,” he said. “Susan, grab those two blue backpacks, get the important stuff out of them, and stuff one of the life vests into each of them. Kate, get a roll of fishing line and a roll of duct tape out, hurry!”
“Dad, what are you doing?” Susan cried. “We have to get out of here, we’re underwater and the car’s filling up! We can’t mess around with backpacks and stuff now!”
“Just do it, Susan!” Jack yelled. “Trust me!”
Kate trusted her husband’s judgment and was already grabbing the items he’d told her to get. Once she had them, she tossed them to Jack, who had retrieved his homemade hand grenades. On the verge of descending into a full-blown panic attack, Susan managed to fight through the terror and crushing anxiety and do what her father said. Once she’d emptied the first of the blue backpacks and stuffed a life vest into it, she handed it to Jack. Jack set about taping the hand grenade inside the bag and tied the fishing line around the pin, bracing it against a ballpoint pen he taped inside with the duct tape. He had based his grenades on military designs and had engineered them so that they functioned in much the same way; a few seconds would pass when the pin was pulled, then the grenade would explode.
Kate saw what Jack was doing, and a moment of realization came over her. She understood exactly what he was doing and why he was doing it. He was going to float the bags up to the surface. When their attackers—who were, presumably, after loot—fished the floating backpacks out of the river, Jack would yank on the fishing line, pulling the pins and thereby detonating the grenades. That would hopefully take out a few attackers and possibly scare them off long enough that they might have a chance to make a break for it and get to a defensive position so that they wouldn’t literally be sitting ducks in the water when they surfaced.
EMP Survival In A Powerless World | Book 22 | The Coldest Night Page 13
