Outage (Powerless Nation #1) (5 page)

The line was slow and Dee could see through the large front windows of the store that it was getting dark outside. They’d have to close soon. Dee realized she had no idea what time it was. “Does anyone have the time?” she asked aloud.

It was sad and amusing at the same time to see people try to check their phones. Finally someone with a plain wristwatch said, “Almost seven.”
 

Her grandpa must be getting worried and she still had a long drive ahead of her, maybe twelve miles. She also had to talk Mason into coming back to Grandpa's with her. She wondered why he hadn't come looking for her yet. Surely he had finished at the sporting goods store by now.

She dumped everything on the counter in front of the same sandy-haired cashier and saw that his tag said Hyrum. He laughed when he saw the jar of Bean-O. “This one's on the house,” he said as she bagged it. Next he saw Dee's small pile of snacks and treats. “Party at the Kerns', eh?”

“How did you know I'm staying at the Kerns'?” Dee asked, eyes narrowed.

“Well, I saw you unload your first cartload into the back of Milton's old Chevrolet, so either you stole the truck and you're stocking up your hide-out with...” he held up the canned fish, “Kipper snacks. Or you're the grand-daughter he told us was coming for a visit.”

“Sardines are an excellent hide-out food,” Dee said with a straight face.

“I grabbed a few things for my family too,” he said. “Wish I'd thought of candy though. My mom practically inhales chocolate when she's stressed.”

He was adding up her total in his head. “You still have cash, right? Sorry I can't be exact, but it's the best I can do right now. I tried to give you a deal.”

Dee picked up a calculator sitting next to the register and raised her eyebrows at him.

He shrugged. “Be my guest,” he said.

She didn't even bother.

Unloading the cart into the truck for a second time, Dee wondered if she should have told the friendly cashier about the end of the world. He could get all the groceries his family needed and probably not even have to pay for them. They were all right there on the shelves. Who knew what would be left in a few days? Would any trucks still be making deliveries? Dee figured even if any of the trucks were still working they probably couldn't get through the jammed up roadways.

Dee looked around for Mason. He was nowhere to be seen, and now she noticed his backpack was gone too. In its place was a sturdy new dark green backpack, and when she unzipped it the first thing she saw was a note. She took it out with a trembling hand and opened it. By the last light of the sun she read:

Dear Dee,
 

Thanks for picking me up. I've got some things I need to take care of in town and I don't think your grandpa would appreciate another mouth to feed. Don't worry about me. I'll be fine.

There's something in the backpack for you. Have your grandpa teach you how to use it and keep it with you. Things are going to get bad, Dee. Stay safe.

Talk to you soon I hope,

Mason

P.S. Just think, it wasn't your fault you crashed the truck after all!
 

Tears filled her eyes and Dee wiped angrily at them. Why was everyone in her life always leaving her? How dare he disappear? This was no time for playing the martyr. Dee tossed the note down and looked into the pack again.
 

He'd given her a gun.

CHAPTER FIVE

H
OLDING
THE
BACKPACK
AWAY
from her like it was a smelly diaper, she climbed into the truck and started the engine. After fiddling with various knobs and levers for five minutes, she resigned herself to the fact that the headlights were broken. Maybe they'd been damaged in the accident, or maybe by the EMP. Mason might have been able to fix them,
if he hadn't abandoned me too
, thought Dee in self-pity. Now she was going to have to drive back to Grandpa's in the dark.

It was a long, tedious drive. The moon was up, but it was a thin, cold crescent whose dim light did little to illuminate the road. Dee finally got out and lashed a bright LED flashlight to the front of the truck. It helped some, though the light bounced alarmingly whenever she hit a bump.

Dee was surprised when she saw a country store with candles shining in the windows and a small group of people congregating outside. She wanted to stop and see what was going on, but she was too tired and just wanted to get home.

A mile or two past the store the engine gave a cough that made her heart sink. Next she felt the truck lurch and then sputter to a halt. None of the gauges on the dashboard had worked since the EMP but she was sure it was out of gas. How was she supposed to get the food home now? None of the pumps worked without power.

Dee sighed and got out of the truck. She looked doubtfully at the backpack and then slung it over her shoulders and headed for home. Before she'd even gone two miles Dee was exhausted, thirsty and regretting bringing the pack. The weight dragged at her shoulders and made her back ache. She'd trade it all for a bottle of water. As she trudged up the road she saw a house through the gloom with a candle burning at every window.
 
She could also see moonlight reflected in a little creek that ran through the yard. Though she knew better than to drink untreated water, she thought maybe a few sips wouldn't hurt.

As she got closer she realized she could hear voices through the thin walls of the humble house – the impatient voice of a mother dealing with tired, fussy children in the dark. “I don't know where the flashlight is,” the mother insisted. “Last time I saw it you guys were using it in your fort. Did you bring it in?”

Dee couldn't hear the child's response, but the mother's next words were, “No, Daddy can't go get it. I told you – he's still on his trip and he won't be home tonight.”

Dee's heart twisted in her chest. She knew exactly how it felt to wish your dad were there to step in and take care things. Her pace slowed to a stop in front of the house as she thought of her dad and the many times he'd been gone when she needed him.

Next, Dee looked at the flashlight Mason had bought for her. She could manage without this one. With firm resolve she walked up the steps and then paused with her finger hovering over the doorbell of the small house. Would it work? Dee almost laughed at the absurdity of the entire day.

She knocked. Instantly, the voices inside hushed and Dee saw little eyes peeking through the window. The door opened slightly and a young woman dressed in a Seahawks hoodie with her hair in a messy ponytail asked, “What do you want?”

Dee didn't really know how to answer, so she just held the flashlight out towards the door. “I could hear from the street that you don't have a flashlight. Take this one, I've got an extra.”

The woman opened the door wider and took the flashlight. She turned it over in her hands and then passed it to her kids. In the gloom Dee saw the gleam of a flashlight shine on three small faces and heard giggles. The woman stepped out on the patio and looked at Dee searchingly. “Do I know you?”

“No, I'm staying with my grandpa, Milton Kerns, up north of here. My name's Madeleine, but friends call me Dee.”

The woman held out a hand to shake, “I'm Courtney. My husband would be here to thank you too, but we're between jobs right now and he had an interview in Spokane today.” Courtney looked toward the end of the street. “I actually expected him home by now.”

Dee looked at Courtney in surprise, and realized she probably had no idea about the situation in town or elsewhere. Not many cars drove by this way and Dee hadn't seen any abandoned vehicles for a couple of miles. There were probably a lot of people out here who thought this was nothing more than a power outage.

Courtney was still talking. “My kids have been such a handful today. I didn't realize how much I take TV for granted.” She looked at the children and sighed tiredly. “You think the power will be back on soon?”

Dee hated to give her the bad news, but someone had been kind enough to explain the situation to her. She wanted to do the same for someone else.

As Dee told her what happened and speculated about what was to come, different worries chased each other across Courtney's face. Finally she said. “You're saying it could be weeks with no power and no phones? With my husband stranded somewhere between here and Spokane?” Courtney's voice became shrill. “I don't even have two days of food here. We were hoping he'd get a job soon, so we didn't apply for food stamps or anything.” Courtney's eyes were fearfully bright in her thin face. “I won't be able to feed my kids.”

Dee looked at the three small children chasing the beam of the flashlight and felt sick. She could see that the family lived humbly. She imagined a lot of people here probably lived paycheck to paycheck. How many other families were in the exact same situation?
 

Dee couldn't help everyone, but she could make a difference here.

“Listen,” she said, taking out the rest of her money and pushing it into the woman's palm. “Take this and walk down to the country store down the road. I'll watch your kids. Do you have a wheelbarrow or a wagon or something? You are going to buy all of the canned food they've got in that store. It doesn’t matter if it's soup, tuna, Spaghettio's, or Beanie Weenie. If it's in a can, you buy it. After that, buy out the energy bars. Get peanut butter and honey and crackers, and if they've got oatmeal, get that too.”

Courtney stood frozen on the porch, clutching the money and staring at her. “You have to go now,” Dee said and gave her a little push.

The flashlight flickered across Courtney's face and Dee saw that her cheeks were wet with tears. “I can't take your money. You should get food for you and your grandpa. You don't even know me.”
 

Dee watched Courtney walk down the steps towards the store and tried to sort out complicated feelings. She didn’t know why she was helping this stranger but there was something about the little girls that reminded her of her brother and she knew she couldn’t turn her back on them.

Dee considered herself an expert babysitter. When she was thirteen and too young to get an after-school job, she decided that she'd just as soon get paid to babysit other people's kids as babysit her younger brother for free. She took a class offered through the local community college and when she found out she could charge higher rates if she was first aid certified, she took that class too.
 

After Jacob died she stopped babysitting. Little boys reminded her too much of her brother and it was easier to stay in her room and avoid the world in general.

She could tell Courtney's kids wouldn't be any trouble. There were three little girls – at seven, Sarah was the oldest, Lexie was five and Beth was three. The two youngest cried when they saw their mom leaving, but they cheered up quickly when Dee suggested a game of hide and seek. The people hiding all hid together, while the person who was 'it' got to have the flashlight to find them. Dee might have been at a disadvantage since she'd never seen layout of the house in the light, but the group of little girls gave themselves away with giggling every time it was her turn.

It was already late and she knew the girls were tired, so when she announced bedtime she expected them to put up a fuss. Instead, they each went to their drawers and started putting on their pajamas. Dee was amazed – she'd have to ask Courtney what her secret was. Even little Beth brought Dee a one-piece sleeper with feet and asked for help putting it on. While she got her dressed, Beth told Dee a made up a story about the three little kittens appliqued on the fabric.

All three girls slept in the same room. Sarah and Lexie had twin beds and Beth was in a toddler bed. Dee was informed that each of the girls got to pick out one story for her to read to them, and they sat together on Sarah's bed while Beth read the stories. When it was time to tuck them in, the two littlest ones wanted a kiss on their foreheads. Dee left the flashlight in the room and then went out to sit on the front steps and watch for Courtney.

After a while Dee saw her, the heaping wheelbarrow teetering in front of her. Even though it was getting late Dee stayed and helped her get everything up the steps and into the kitchen.

“How were the girls?” Courtney asked. “Thanks so much for watching them.”

“They were great – perfect little angels.” said Dee.

“Are you sure those were my kids you were watching?” asked Courtney with a laugh.

“Did you get everything you need?” asked Dee.

“And more. If we're careful we should be set for a few months. I don't know how to begin thanking you. You probably saved our lives.” Courtney glanced toward the girls' room, “I don't know what I'd do without my girls. I don't think I'd make it.”

Dee looked at the young mother's face and saw resolve. “You're going to be fine, and you can come up to my grandpa's farm if you need anything. It's about five miles up the road.”

The woman smiled, “Apart from the store, I think that might make you our closest neighbor.”

 
“Speaking of the store, how did it go?”

“You wouldn't believe what it was like there,” Courtney told her. “It was insane.”

“I saw a crowd when I drove by. Did you have to fight for the food?”

“No, that's what was so crazy. No one was buying food! Every last person in the store was buying booze, smokes and girlie magazines. By the time I left they were sold out of all three.”

Dee snorted. “I'm glad you've got your priorities straight.”

CHAPTER SIX

A
S
D
EE
NEARED
HER
grandpa's farm, she could feel exhaustion etched in every muscle of her body. Jasper announced her arrival with a round of feverish barking, and when Grandpa opened the front door, holding a gas lantern and calling out, “Is that you, Maddie?” she stumbled into his arms and burst into tears. After everything that had happened to her that day, she didn't expect to hear herself say with a hiccup, “I wrecked your truck, Grandpa.”