End Days Super Boxset (188 page)

Paula tugged on her mother’s arm, causing her to look down. “I just want to go home,” she whispered.

“In time, baby, in time,” Christina said.

“We need to stick together,” Mark said, “despite anything that’s happened. We can get through anything together.” He wanted to believe it more than anything else.

The matter seemed settled, and there was little else to say. Janice looked at Mark for any trace of truth as to what was
really
going on, but his face revealed nothing. Going to the survival camp was as much his idea as it was James’.

“You know where this place is?” Janice asked.

James pulled out a map from his pocket. “I can get us there,” he said.

The group was quiet. There were no outright objections. Suddenly Christina chimed in. “Before we do anything, we need to go back to the house, and see if anything survived the fire,” she said.

Janice looked at James. “Lead the way,” she said.

James took a few steps forward away from the dirt road and further back into the woods. “Follow me,” he said.

The group grabbed their packs and followed James toward what was left of the bug-out house. If they left later that day, James estimated a few hours at the most until they reached the survival camp. They were famished and dehydrated and would no doubt have to use their prepper skills to sustain themselves. The thought of a nearby creek was tantalizing. They were wandering through a bad dream where there was no rhyme or reason to anything. The survival camp could very well be a myth. No one expected anything more. However, the prospect of a new home, wherever that may be, offered hope. And once they arrived, perhaps some sense could be made of the world around them.

Prologue
:

On the morning of September 22, 2020, several key targets throughout the U.S. were thought to have been hit with EMP missiles. Technically referred to as high altitude nuclear EMPs (HEMPs), these ballistic missiles detonate in mid-air and send damaging electromagnetic pulses that have the ability to destroy the circuitry of all electronics in range. After the attacks, reports varied about which cities and towns had been affected. One thing was certain: the aftermath of the strikes sent the nation's already fragile social and economic climate spiraling into mass chaos.

Among the hardest areas hit were the cities and towns around the state of Georgia. In the most rural area of Milledgeville, GA, outside Macon, five friends escaped from their hometown to a safe house deep in the forest. This “bug-out” house was meant to sustain them through the unknown duration of the massive blackouts sweeping throughout Georgia. The group met through an online prepper group and later agreed to work together in the event of disaster. America in 2020 was already on the brink with an economy on the verge of collapse, civil unrest, massive unemployment, debt, and an inflated and incompetent bureaucracy trying to manage it all.

Things weren't much better on the international stage. Russia had tightened its grip on pre-Iron Curtain territories. China had long exceeded the US as the number one economic superpower in the world. The Middle East was a disaster, with rogue nations developing nuclear capabilities as the US depleted their own arsenal in efforts to “cut back” and urge other countries to minimize their weapons. However, no other country was doing so. It was quite the opposite. There were more nuclear weapons than ever around the world.

It would seem that the timing of the EMP strikes came at a carefully planned juncture to finally push the West over the edge. But the enemies of America couldn't have imagined how truly successful the attacks would be. National communications, electricity, vehicle mobility, and transportation systems were vanquished in a matter of seconds. Several towns and cities across affected areas had immediately been transported to the nineteenth century. For a society so heavily reliant on mass media, cell phones, computers, Internet, and automated transactions, the startling change was detrimental. What no one could figure out was where the EMP attacks came from and why.

“Current vulnerability of US critical infrastructures. The immediate effects of EMP are disruption of, and damage to, electronic systems electrical infrastructure. A single attack may well encompass and degrade at least 70% of the nation's electrical service, all in one instant.”
-- EMP Commission Report April 2008.

Tuesday September 22, 2020 3:05 P.M

It had been one day after the transformers and generators blew out at the North Highlands Hydroelectric Plant in Columbus, Georgia. Todd Broderick, a plant supervisor, had his hands full along with every exhausted employee, technician, and supervisor on the floor. The plant had been compromised, disabled and diminished by an unseen force.

Without the ability to generate power, thousands of Columbus residents had been without electricity for over twenty-four hours. And with no clear estimate for repairing the damaged transformers, they would be without power for a much longer time. Many of the electricians had been working overnight to try to bring the plant back to life. They worked with flashlights and a cluster of tools and meters. Transformers were disassembled and generators were rewired, to no effect. A closer inspection of the damaged equipment revealed that the internal circuitry had been destroyed.

Todd was adamant that the plant follow procedures related to a terrorist attack. These procedures, as he knew them, involved complete evacuation and immediate law enforcement support to secure the plant. Todd's boss, Mr. Patterson, however, saw things differently. While he didn't rule out the possibility of an EMP strike, he wanted to solve the issue without the interference of outside parties.

The plant itself was tucked away from the city, miles from any actual neighborhood. Without working vehicles, no one could leave the premises, unless they went on foot. Some had slept overnight on the cold concrete floors of the plant. They were tired and hungry and trying their best to keep it together despite the startling lack of resources around them.

In one particularly large industrial room, Todd oversaw his team’s attempt to make repairs on the damaged equipment. They went down a line of massive generators, shaped like centrifuges, and tested the components inside each. Their meters displayed the same results each time: the equipment was inoperable.

“This is really bad,” Johnson, one of the technicians, said, removing his hard hat. The room had no windows and it was dark, similar to most of the other industrial rooms in the old building. Without the machinery running, the plant seemed eerily quiet. In his ten years working there, Todd had never seen or experienced anything like it. Due to the stressful and confining environment, none of the employees had a chance to investigate the world outside the plant. They hadn't talked to their families and had little idea of how far the problem extended. A temporary blackout was an inconvenience, but a loss of communications and mobility coupled with no power was unprecedented.

Suddenly, Mr. Patterson entered the room in haste. “Mr. Broderick,” he said, looking around.

Todd turned and pointed his flashlight in his boss's direction. “Yes sir?”

“What's the current status of the equipment? Have any of the generators been repaired on this floor?” The technicians continued working in the background as Mr. Patterson awaited Todd's response.

“From what we gathered, the equipment has been badly damaged, and we can't make the repairs necessary without replacing all internal components.”

“So what are you saying?” Mr. Patterson asked, leaning closer.

“I'm saying the same thing I told you yesterday. The equipment needs an overhaul. We're going to need replacement generators. I have reason to believe this was a deliberate attack on the city's power infrastructure. I believe that the plant should be evacuated and the National Guard be called to secure the area until we can get--”

Mr. Patterson raised his hand. “I get it, but you said yourself that replacing the equipment could take upwards from weeks to a month.”

“What other option do we have?”

“Just what the hell is this city going to do without electricity for a month?” Mr. Patterson asked.

“You tell me, sir. You're the plant manager!” Todd said with his voice raised.

“Mr. Broderick, you're way out of line,” Mr. Patterson said. “I know very well what my role and responsibilities are here, and I don't need your constant reminder.”

“Sir!” A technician named Woodruff called out from behind a generator while shining a flashlight inside. “This one's not completely toast. We might be able to salvage some of these parts, maybe get it back up and running.”

“That's what I'm talking about,” Mr. Patterson said, pushing Todd aside. “You see, Mr. Broderick, it's not the end of the world.” In Patterson's three years as plant manager, he had never called Todd by his first name. Todd followed his boss to the generator in question. The other technicians gathered around as Woodruff continued to fiddle with the wiring. He touched the wires with the metal tip of his electrical meter.

“I'm picking something up here. There's some life in these circuits,” Woodruff said.

Mr. Patterson took a step back to address the group. “I want each one of these generators re-tested.” The technicians groaned in unison. “Come on people, we’ve got a crisis on our hands here.” He clapped his hands together. “Let's get this plant operational.”

They dispersed throughout the room as Todd stood next to Patterson. “Sir,” Todd said.

“What is it, Mr. Broderick?” Patterson said.

“It's been over twenty-four hours. We need to somehow get to city hall and inform them of the situation.”

“Your car or mine?” Patterson said sarcastically.

“There has to be some way we can get in touch with them,” Todd said.

Patterson turned to face Todd with genuine concern. “You're right. Take the next hour and get a team together to look at the vehicles. I want every car in the lot re-checked. There's a good possibility we can find at least one running vehicle.”

“I appreciate your optimism, sir,” Todd said.

“Duly noted. Now, let's not waste any more time. There's a lot of people depending on us.”

Todd said no more and began to walk away. Before he could leave, the room went silent and everyone looked around. There was a sound outside of a helicopter approaching.

Patterson perked up then pushed past Todd out of the room. “Broderick. Come on! Hurry up!” he said.

The other technicians looked at Todd for guidance. “Just stay here, I'll go see what this is about,” Todd said. They complied and stood by the generators in anticipation. Todd left the room as Johnson and Woodruff looked at each other from across the room in the darkness.

“Who do you think it is?” Johnson asked.

“No clue,” Woodruff said.
“Boy Scouts of America?”

***

Todd walked outside the front entrance of the plant with Patterson at his side. They shielded their eyes from the glaring sun above. A helicopter hovered overhead, preparing to land. A huge gust of wind nearly knocked over both men. Disoriented, they walked down a ramp into the employee parking lot filled with the inoperable cars. The helicopter continued its descent while searching for enough room to land. In an instant, Todd realized that the helicopter was going to land right on top of them.

“Back inside!” he yelled. “Back inside!”

Todd put his hand on Patterson's back and guided him back up the ramp into the front double-door entrance of the power plant. Todd burst through the front door, pushing Patterson ahead of him. They could hear the helicopter growing louder as it landed. Todd shut the doors, and they leaned against the hallway wall.

“This is a clear breach of security!” Patterson yelled, catching his breath.

“We should still have a few guards on site, right?” Todd said.

Patterson covered his face with his hands in frustration. “I don't know, it's been a crazy twenty-four hours.”

Todd walked back to the door leading outside and slowly pushed it open. The helicopter found an open space in the parking lot and landed. Its blades slowed with each swooping rotation as the engine gradually wound down. It was blue and white and had the state seal of Georgia on it. The co-pilot, wearing aviator sunglasses and thick headphones, stepped out and slid the passenger door open.

Two men wearing dark dress suits jumped out as a distinguished-looking woman exited. She had brunette hair down to her shoulders, which flew wildly in the wind. Her thick silver necklace glittered in the sunlight, and her blue two-piece suit hugged her slender frame. Patterson recognized her immediately. It was the mayor, Anne Hastings. After her victory two years before, she was the first female elected mayor of Columbus. She was also a consummate reformer, and Patterson suspected that he was going to catch hell for everything that had so far happened under his watch.

“It's the mayor,” he said to Todd as they both peeked outside.

“Yeah, I recognize her,” Todd said. “Just what we need right now.”

Patterson got directly in Todd's face, surprising him. “You listen to me. We have everything under control here. That's what I want to stress.”

“What are you worried about exactly?” Todd asked, incredulously. “She's not going to fire you. You're the manager of this power plant, not a member of her cabinet.”

“You don't understand. She has connections.”

“But the fiasco here extends far beyond her connections, or anything else going on. We're talking about an EMP here. This could be a national crisis, an act of war.”

“Let's hope she sees it that way,” Patterson said, cowering behind the door. He then pushed open the doors and motioned Todd to follow. “Time to face the music,” he said.

Todd felt no anxiety seeing the mayor and her security detail approach them. The plant was at no fault for what had happened. True, they hadn't been following plant protocol, but the EMP strike itself hadn't been officially confirmed, so there were no real instructions to follow. Their main fault lay in not getting the plant back to operational status. Perhaps the mayor's visit was going to be a headache after all.

The helicopter blades rotated slowly below the bright blue sky. The engine went into its lowest gear and shut down. The mayor approached Todd and Patterson with her two-man security detail as the two pilots circled the helicopter as if conducting preventative maintenance. Todd pondered the extent of the EMP. Maybe it was a direct strike against the power plant only and the rest of Columbus was fine. Or maybe the helicopter managed to avoid the electromagnetic pulses. One thing was for certain: the mayor did not look happy.

“Gentlemen, what the hell is going on here?” she asked, stopping directly in front of them. The security detail stood patiently behind her.

Todd looked to Patterson, who then attempted to provide answers. “Mayor Hastings, it's a pleasure to see you.”

“Cut the crap, I want to know who's in charge here and what you're doing about this blackout,” she said.

“The plant has been attacked,” Todd said, causing Patterson to look at him in shock.

“That's not necessarily the case,” Patterson said, extending his arm to shake the mayor's hand. “I'm Clyde Patterson, plant manager.” The mayor shook his hand and waited for Patterson to continue. “We don't know exactly what caused the plant shutdown, but we are currently working around the clock to get the power grid back online.”

“And who are you?” the mayor asked, looking at Todd.

“Todd Broderick, supervisor and team leader.”

The mayor took a step closer toward the men. “I've been in meetings with city officials and emergency response teams all night. Since then, I've heard several theories. One of them, of course, is that our city has been attacked with an EMP. Surely you've considered this scenario.”

“Yes, we have,” Patterson answered. Todd nodded in agreement.

“If that's the case, I may have to bypass the governor and issue a state of emergency for Columbus. But first, I need to know the situation here.”

“Understood,” Patterson said, turning to the entrance doors. “Please, come inside. No need to stand out here all day.” He signaled to the doors with his hands and looked to Todd to lead the way.

The group moved up the short steps leading to the double-door entrance into the plant. Once inside, the darkness overwhelmed them, and it took their eyes a moment to adjust. Patterson pulled a small pen-sized flashlight from his pocket and lit the way. They moved down the hall to the main floor of the plant. Patterson did most of the talking, though Todd had many questions of his own that he wanted to ask the mayor.

“As you will see, Mayor Hastings, my dedicated technicians have been working through the night to get this plant operational. Our main obstacle so far is damaged equipment.”

“What kind of equipment?” the mayor asked.

“Transformers and generators, mostly. This plant cannot sustain and produce power if either of them is not operational,” Patterson answered.

“But this
is
a hydroelectric plant, correct? How could such a thing happen?” the mayor asked.

“I think we're dealing with a high voltage electromagnetic pulse. Possibly the highest level there is,” Todd answered, cutting in. “Something has managed to take out even our largest transformers.” He could sense Patterson's annoyance whenever he spoke to the mayor, but Todd wasn't going to let his boss run the entire show. He had questions of his own. “Mayor, I have to ask, what's the situation everywhere else?”

“The situation?” the mayor asked.