Grid Down: A Strike against America - An EMP Survival Story- Book Two (4 page)

Phelps swung his head in Arthur’s direction and pleaded. “Please let them go. I implore you to search your soul for mercy. Join me on the path toward righteousness and save your soul before it’s too late!” 

Arthur cupped his chin with one hand and nodded, as if considering it. Phelps didn’t know if his words would make a bit of difference. He was confident, however, that if Arthur opened his eyes to God, no matter how far he had strayed, there was a good chance they could all be saved. The entire town could be.

“I’ll let your friends go,” Arthur said in a hushed tone.

Phelps froze. Arthur’s words took him completely by surprise. “I’m sorry? You’ll…”

“Let your friends go. All of them. On one condition, of course.”

He didn’t want to hear it, but he asked, “Which is?” The catch came as predictably as Phelps had imagined.

“After so many casualties the other day, there’s an undeniable sense of demoralization around town. And once people realize that things are going to stay like this, it’s going to get worse. My methods can only go so far in keeping this town in order. The people need something. They need something to believe in.”

Phelps nodded. “Faith is the cornerstone of a healthy existence.”

“I agree, and that’s why I want you to talk to our townspeople and spread your message.”

Perplexed, Phelps leaned in closer. “You want me to…”

“Preach the gospel,” Arthur said. “Deliver the word unto the people and convince them of my own divinity as a leader.”

Phelps blinked rapidly and thought to himself as Arthur continued. “Here’s the deal. You convince the people of my divine power as a messenger of God, and I’ll free your friends.”

“I can’t do that,” Phelps said. “That goes against the entirety of what I believe, and I will lose the grace of God with such blasphemy.”

Arthur smiled. “I knew you’d resist. After all, you failed to convince your followers to fight with me at the camp, and I’m sure you’d fail at this as well, if I allowed it.” Arthur leaned in closely and spoke with menace in his voice. “But fail me this time, and things are going to get a
whole
lot worse for you and your people. That much, I guarantee.”  

***

Twenty-four hours had passed, and the children still hadn’t seen the light of day. When pressed about using the restrooms, the guards tossed a bucket into the room. “Enjoy!” one of them had said. They’d been provided little—some gruel, hardened bread, and a single water bottle to share between the eight of them. Confined in a dank cell with just a kerosene lamp to illuminate the darkness was bad enough, but not knowing their fate was even worse. There was nothing to do but wait.

Wait for word from their captors. Wait to be rescued. Or simply wait for whatever was in store for them. Antonio wasn’t one for waiting around, and after long hours of agonizing uncertainty, he had had enough.

“We’re getting out of here tonight,” he announced to the room. The others lay about on the mattresses, exhausted by sheer boredom but too unnerved to sleep. Nobody said anything. Antonio paced the limited confines of the room, walking in circles, his knife in hand.

Josh sat up and rubbed his eyes. “How do you plan to do that?”

“We call the guard, get him in here, and I’ll take care of the rest,” he answered.

The Atkins boys looked at Antonio with skepticism.

“Too risky,” his sister, Gabrielle, said.

“I’m trying to save us here,” he said back.

Kelly and Allison were quiet. They didn’t seem to want to get involved. Or maybe they didn’t know what to say. Josh stood up and stretched. He could sense Antonio’s increasing agitation and restlessness. True, none of them wanted to be there, but what measures could they possibly take?

Antonio pointed at Josh. “You know how to shoot a gun, right?”

“Well, yeah, but—”

Antonio pointed to the Atkins boys. “How about you three?”

Mark nodded, but Jeremiah and Luke said they had never fired a gun before.

“Hold on,” Josh said. “Let’s not get carried away.”

Frustrated, Antonio stepped forward and got in his face. “You’ve been telling me to
hold on
since we first got here, and now look at us. Caged like animals in here.” He drew his leg back and kicked a plastic waste bucket across the room, startling everyone. Fortunately, it was empty.

“Calm down!” Gabrielle snapped.

“Listen to me,” Josh said. “You’re right. We do need to get out of here, but it has to be done right.”

“I’m all ears,” Antonio said, placing his hands on his hips, waiting.

Mark looked at his brothers and then stood up, surprising Josh, who seemed lost in thought.

“All we can do is wait,” Mark said. “They can’t hold us here forever.”

Antonio groaned. “How do you know? They can do anything they want. There are no cops. No government. No army. This is it, man. We have to make a move. Longer we stay, the less chance we’ll have to escape.”

Josh chimed in. “There
has
to be some good people left in town. People who can help us.”

Antonio spun around to face him. “Yeah, and they’re probably locked up just like us.”

“Here’s an idea,” Josh continued. “We call the guard and ask to speak to that mayor guy. Tell him… I don’t know, that we have information about our parents or something.”

Antonio seemed intrigued, hanging onto what Josh was saying. “I like it. What else?” he said.

“Then, when they take us to see the mayor, we make a run for it.”

“All of us?” Antonio asked.

“No. Like, just a few. We go get help to free the others.”

Kelly spoke up. “That’s a dumb plan.”

“Agreed,” Gabrielle added.

Antonio took immediate offense. “What do you two know? Nothing. If you’re not going to help, keep your mouths shut.”

“No need for that, Antonio,” Josh said.

“You two are gonna get yourselves killed,” Gabrielle said.

“Shut up, Gabby!” Antonio yelled.

An abrupt banging on the steel door from outside scared everyone. “Knock it off in there!” a gruff voice demanded.

They froze in place as the room went quiet. Antonio stared at Josh with wide-eyed urgency as if saying,
now is the time
. Josh shrugged and turned away. Frustrated, Antonio moved to the door himself and pounded on its heavy metal surface.

“Hey, man. Hey, we need to talk to you!”

Josh ran over to the door and spoke in a hushed tone. “What are you doing?”

Antonio flashed a determined look. “Your plan, that’s what. It’s the only chance we have.”

Josh grabbed his arm. “Have you ever stabbed anyone before?” He seethed.

“No,” Antonio said sheepishly. “But there’s a first time for everything.” He raised his fist and pounded on the door again. “We got an emergency here!”

There was no stopping Antonio. Josh knew as much. The rest of the group stayed in the back, sitting on the mattresses, seeming afraid to speak up.

“What the hell are you hollering about in there?” the voice outside asked.

“We need to talk to you,” Antonio said. “It’s important.”

Josh released Antonio’s arm and looked back at the group and then to Antonio, sensing a point of no return. He had no idea what they would say to the mayor if they were taken to him. Everything was moving too fast. Josh hoped that the guard would ignore them and move on. Josh wasn’t ready.

To his surprise, the door unlocked and opened slightly as the man’s voice grew louder. “Get back and against the wall!” The glow of a ChemLight seeped through the crack.

“Okay, man,” Antonio said, holding his hands up. “We’ll get back.” He moved back as Josh followed. The door opened, and a burly, heavy-set man cautiously walked in, holding a pistol in one hand and a ChemLight in the other. He had a slight Southern drawl, a bushy gray beard, and a blue bandana over his head. He was dressed in black from head to toe except for a tan tactical vest that barely stretched around his bowling-ball gut.

Antonio leaned close to Josh and whispered, “He’s perfect.”

Josh hushed him.

The man scanned the room, studying the kids sitting in the corner with frightened looks on their faces. He grimaced nastily, and Josh could hear him wheezing as he moved closer toward them.

“What’s this emergency?” he asked with a cocked brow. “I ain’t got no time for games.”

Antonio wasted no time. “Me and my friend here want to speak to the mayor.”

The man’s eye twitched as he leaned in closer, the gun inches from Antonio’s face. “What the hell are you talking about?”

“We’d like to make a deal,” Antonio continued. “Tell him, Josh.”

Panic hit Josh like a brick in the face. He felt uncertain with being put on the spot and wanted to lash out at Antonio. A long, uncomfortable silence followed as the man seemed to be staring holes through them.

“My dad…” Josh began. “The mayor knows him. Has it in for him real bad, if you know what I mean. We have information about my parents and their, uh… activities.”

The man took a step back and crossed his arms in a mocking manner. “Really?” he said, stretching the word out. “Now, why would you sell out your folks like that?”

Josh shrugged. “Every man for himself?”

A silence came back over them as the man studied Josh up and down. He then rocked back on his heels, mouth agape, and bellowed with laughter. Antonio glimpsed at Josh and gave him a quick thumbs-up. The man settled down and caught his breath.

“You kids today. Oh boy,” he said, shaking his head. “You ain’t got no loyalty for nothing.”

“We wish to speak to the mayor immediately,” Antonio said.

The man’s face went from jovial to enraged in an instant. “You don’t get to make demands here, son. Got that?”

“Yes, sir,” Antonio said. “But the information we have is only good for a limited time, if you catch my drift.”

Clearly conflicted, the man pursed his lips and stared ahead, thinking. His raised his thick finger and pointed at Antonio. “Why don’t you gimme a taste?”

“A taste?” Antonio asked.

“Of this supposed info. I need to know if you’re bullshitting me.”

“Yes, of course.” Antonio stopped and looked at Josh.

“Our parents and their friends have five working vehicles,” Josh spurted out. “Bug-out cars, they call them. All made in the late seventies and immune to the EMP, so they said.”

“Josh!” Kelly shouted out. “What are you doing?”

“You shut your mouth,” the man snapped, glaring at her. His eyes shifted back to Josh. “Go on.”

“Um. They have them hidden near the camp. We can tell you exactly where.”

Antonio cut in. “And that’s just for starters, but we’re not saying any more. We want to see the mayor tonight. Will you take us to him?”

The man’s eyebrows knitted together as he cupped his chin and rubbed his scraggly beard with his index finger. “All right. Let’s go.”

Antonio and Josh accompanied the man outside of the cell without saying a word to their group. Adrenaline rushed through Josh, and he could almost hear his heart beating through his chest. He wanted to shout at Antonio to end the charade. They had taken it too far. Antonio, on the other hand, looked more confident than ever.

It was dark outside the warehouse, much like when they had first arrived. Stars flickered between tree branches, giving a faint light as Josh and Antonio walked ahead, with the man breathing heavily behind them. The bitter, cool air sent Josh’s teeth chattering. It had gotten cold very quickly, but all sense of time was lost on him, other than that it was night. There didn’t seem to be anyone else around—a welcome sight, and the quietness was comforting, a fleeting moment of calm before they would have to act.

“Where are you taking us?” Antonio asked, turning around slightly, his head cocked back.

“To the mayor’s house. What’s wrong? You boys ain’t up for a little walking?”

“We’re good,” Antonio said.

Josh could feel the man’s presence behind them, breathing down their necks. His pistol was in the air, steady, and aimed at their heads. The opportune moment to run vanished as quickly as it had seemed to arrive. As though considering the danger at hand, Antonio shifted tactics.

“What’s your name, sir?”

The man hesitated and cleared his throat. “What the hell you wanna know my name for?”

“Just curious. A little ice breaker never hurt anyone,” Antonio said.

The man didn’t respond. It was patently clear that the guard wasn’t going to stoop so low as to talk with a bunch of kids. But Antonio persisted.

“My name’s Antonio. And my friend, who you have your gun pointed at, his name’s Josh.”

The man snarled in disgust. “Don’t give a shit who you are or where you came from. And if you keep it up, I’ll leave the both of you in a ditch. That clear enough?”

They continued across the dry grass toward a dirt road leading to a cluster of houses in the distance. Josh’s heart seized at the sight of homes under the starlight. It looked so comfortable and normal. The mayor could be living in any one of them. They were getting close and running out of time.

Josh opened his mouth, but no words would come out. He tried to force himself to spring off, into the abyss of a nearby forest, but his legs wouldn’t move beyond making steady footsteps. He had no idea what the man was capable of. He only knew that they were in over their heads. But again, Antonio persisted.

“If you’re not going to tell us your name, maybe I could guess it.”

The man said nothing. Antonino’s pace increased as Josh tried to keep up with him. They could hear the man struggling to keep up.

“Slow your asses down!” he barked.

Antonio slowed. “You look like a Larry. Maybe even a Barry. Am I close?”

The man raced forward with anger. “Shut your hole, you little shit. Just remember, I only need one of you.”

Antonio shook his head. Josh looked at him for some sign of what to do, but Antonio seemed set on taunting their gun-wielding traveler. “Do you always threaten teenagers with violence?”

The man smacked the back of Antonio’s head with one quick swoop of his meaty hand. Antonio jolted forward and grabbed his head. His legs almost went out from under him, and he stumbled.

“Keep it up, big mouth,” the man said.

“I just wanted to know your name!” Antonio shouted. “Is that a crime?”

“Keep your voice down,” the man said.

Josh found himself leading the way. As they continued down the dirt road, he could see several homes in view. He kept walking, one foot ahead of the other, at a pace all his own. He then realized that both Josh and the man had stopped. He turned to see Antonio standing with a hand still over his head. The man pushed the gun into his back. Several stringy gray hairs hung from below his blue bandana.

“What are you stopping for?” he asked.

“No one has ever hit me in the back of the head before for just asking a question.”

“I can do a lot more than that,” the man said.

“Antonio, enough!” Josh shouted.

Antonio turned to Josh and gave him a look that sent chills down his spine.
No,
Josh thought.
Don’t do it!