Chapter 3
“Everybody, get back to work!” Meadows barked, furious over the fact that people were simply standing around and doing nothing.
“The tools won’t work,” one of the workers said.
“I don’t care about your excuses,” Meadows answered. “Everybody has to maintain their schedules. I don’t care if it’s the apocalypse. Everybody finishes their work today.”
John stood off to the side in the parking lot, where he first realized that an EMP had been detonated.
It was clear to him that nobody would be working on this project for quite some time.
There was a storm coming and nothing to stop it, no matter how loud Meadows screamed or how many threats he made.
There was a sense of unease amongst everyone. Meadows was losing his grip on control, and the crew questioned whether they should leave. But John already knew the answer.
“Everybody needs to go home,” John said.
Unlike when Meadows spoke, everybody looked at John when he opened his mouth. He was relatively quiet on the job, but whenever he spoke, people always listened. His words were held in high regard.
But Meadows didn’t take to John’s interference kindly. Before anybody else could step forward and ask questions, Meadows quickly confronted John.
“You no longer work for this company,” Meadows said. “So, why don’t you get in your truck and leave?”
John glanced at the parking lot and saw the mix of modern trucks and cars sitting uselessly in the vacant lot. Based on his assessment, his was the only vehicle that had survived the EMP.
“I’m heading to the hospital,” John said, looking past Meadows to the rest of them.
“Anybody who needs a ride into the city, I can drop off on the way. But I’m warning everybody that the longer you stay in populated areas, the worse the situation will deteriorate.
The power has shut off everywhere. No power.
No cell phones. No transportation. I don’t know if it’s simply the city, the state, or the entire country, but one thing is for certain: once people start to realize the power isn’t coming back on, they will become violent. ”
John’s blatant explanation surprised everyone, including Meadows. They all wore expressions of disbelief, and John didn’t blame them. None of them had studied this sort of event, let alone heard of an EMP before today.
But John had prepared. He spent the past five years building a shelter in the country to act as a secure location for his family to retreat to should the city ever collapse. It wasn’t completely finished, but it would keep his family safe.
“How do you know the power isn’t going to come back on?” one of the men asked.
“The EMP, or electromagnetic pulse, fried everything with a computer chip,” John answered. “And because everything runs on computers these days, that means no more cell phones, no more cars, and no more power. We can rebuild, but until that point comes, society will be in chaos.”
Everybody was paying attention to John now, even Meadows, who had always maintained a good poker face.
A few of the workers started to walk away, heading toward their cars, and confirmed they wouldn’t start. Once people realized they no longer had any transportation, that was when the situation started to spiral out of control.
All the workers came to John, begging him to take them home. But John could only take those who were heading deeper into the city. He needed to get to the hospital and find his wife and son.
“Okay, everybody, back up,” Jake said, his voice cracking like thunder. “John already said he could take who he could and no more. Everybody else, I suggest you start walking home immediately.”
Everybody backed down after Jake intervened. John was thankful to have a friend to watch his back.
“Grab as much water and nonperishable food items as you can find,” John answered.
“And if you or any of your loved ones require any medication to survive, I would suggest going to the pharmacy immediately and getting as much of it as you can. I don’t know how long this blackout is going to last, but it’s not something that’s going to be fixed in the next week. ”
That caused even more panic among the group. The more workers who evacuated the area, the more Meadows started to unravel.
“This is all a bunch of nonsense,” Meadows said. “This guy is simply trying to scare you, but there is nothing wrong. I’m going to get in touch with the office, and we’re going to have some generators brought out with some new tools, and everybody can get back to work. It’s business as usual.”
But as Meadows turned away in his attempt to call the office, he could do nothing, as his phone was already dead. He stared at the blank screen before he finally tossed the device onto the ground and crushed it with the boot of his heel.
Despite everything that Meadows had done and the nightmare he had been to work with, John knew Meadows had a family. He was married with two young children. And if John recalled correctly, they lived in the heart of the city.
John walked up to him, offering an olive branch. “I can give you a ride closer to downtown,” John said. “It would be good for you to be with your family during this time. I know they would want to see you.”
Meadows looked at John with an expression of disbelief. “How is any of this even possible?”
John imagined there would be several people asking those questions in the coming days, weeks, and months. But he didn’t have the time to explain all the nuances of what could happen after an EMP was detonated. He needed to get moving.
“We have room,” John said.
But despite John’s offer to Meadows, the man’s pride couldn’t accept the help.
“Get out of here,” Meadow said. “As of this moment, you no longer work for this company.”
John could’ve been angry, and he could’ve said some things he would’ve regretted, but he knew Meadows was only afraid. He couldn’t comprehend and come to terms with what was happening, so he lashed out.
John returned to the truck where Jake and a few others had gathered. The construction site was nearly abandoned, with only a few people sticking around with Meadows. But John didn’t believe they would stick around for much longer.
“Why did you even offer to give him a ride?” Jake asked.
“Some people just need a little bit of grace,” John answered.
“And some people need a swift kick in the ass,” Jake replied. “So, what’s the plan?”
“We need to get to the hospital as quickly as possible,” John answered. “From there, we’ll leave the city.”
“What about Sydney?” Jake asked.
Sydney was John’s oldest daughter. She was working on a farm as part of an agricultural program.
She dreamed of owning her own farm one day, and so she split her time between her high school work and work at the farm.
She had gotten to the point where she was mostly working on the farm and had even toyed with the idea of getting her GED so she could work in agriculture full-time.
But Sydney was well beyond the city limits. She was safer than them at the moment.
“Sydney will be fine,” John answered. “We need to get to Blake and Maggie. They’re the ones who need our help the most.”
“Right, okay,” Jake answered.
John glanced behind him at the folks who had decided to come with them. He hoped he hadn’t bitten off more than he could chew. Because he believed the world was not ready for the chaos the EMP was about to unleash.