Wilson Harp - EMP

“Hey Bonnie,” Anne said as she untied the mare’s reins. “This is my friend David and we are both going to need a ride, okay?”

Bonnie seemed very calm as I approached her. I reached out to stroke her nose and she looked at me as if taking measure of my ability.

“Don’t worry, girl. He’ll be riding behind me,” Anne said as if she could read my mind.

Anne swung up into the saddle like a star from a 60’s western. A smooth, single motion that looked so simple and effortless. She held her hand out for me and I exhaled a breath I didn’t realize I had been holding. I just didn’t want to fall on my face like I had so many years ago when I visited her house for the first time.

She slid her foot from out of the stirrup as I stepped up to start my first attempt at riding a horse in close to thirty years. I grabbed her wrist tightly and she pulled up on my arm and helped me get the momentum needed to swing into the saddle. I was surprised as I felt myself settle into the right position.

“Not bad, David. At least you remember how to get in the saddle.”

“As long as you don’t give her the bit, I should be able to stay put,” I said as I rested my hands on Anne’s hips.

Our conversation was casual as we road south out of town. With each minute and each sentence, the awkwardness of our past and the tension of the present situation seemed to melt away.

We stopped and gave basic information to several small knots of people who had gathered at some of the crossroads. Each group seemed mollified as we explained what we knew, what we did not know, and how the committee had decided to spread news of what we as a town would do to get through this bizarre and mysterious time.

We made the turn west on Miller Road and I hopped off and started going house to house on foot. Anne rode on to the end of the development and we met in the middle some hours later. We then headed back to Granger and took turns with the houses on the way south.

The sun was sliding down the western sky when I spotted my folks house. There was a small crowd gathered on the front lawn just past where my car was parked. It looked like the crowd was composed almost entirely of grey haired men.

One of the gathered men pointed toward the horse and pair of riders. The crowed quieted and waited. Calls of greetings to Anne started as we came closer, and by the time I slid out of the saddle, smiles and casual chatter was wide spread.

“Davey,” my dad said. He left the crowd and walked to the horse.

He looked tired and worn. I could tell by his clothes he had been working in the dirt all day.

“Dad,” I said. “How is everything here?”

I looked closer and most of the men were in the same condition as my dad. They looked dirty and tired, but they all had big smiles,

“Good, good. We were able to get three wells reopened today and we think we know where another four are.”

“That’s fantastic,” Anne said. “How did you get that much of a jump on the rest of us?”

Dad shrugged and looked around at the assembled men. “I guess we are from a generation that doesn’t need to be told what to do. We figured if there was no water from the town, we would go back to the way many of us got water as kids. We went back to the well.”

“Good job, Dad,” I said. “Anne, do you want to have dinner with us tonight.”

“No,” Anne said. She was shading her eyes as she looked to the west. “We need to hit the rest of the houses on Granger, and then I need to get the houses along Balsam. Plus, I need to get back to my place and take care of the animals. But I’ll be here early tomorrow morning with Clyde. You can ride him if you want.”

“Sounds good,” I said. “You have a good night and don’t stay up too late.”

Anne’s laugh always reminded me of rain on a sheet of crystal in the past. Light and playful. It surprised me to hear a throaty, deep chuckle come from her. A type of laugh her father always had.

She waved and let Bonnie canter south along the road. After the Johnson’s, there was no homes for a full mile. At the bridge over Carter’s Creek, the last people that could said to be part of Kenton, lived in small collection of old houses and mobile homes in a large wooded area right off Granger. Once Anne let them know what Ted had said, she would ride back up to Miller and then west toward Balsam. I could only imagine how sore she would be tomorrow.

“Be careful, Davey,” Dad said as we turned towards the house.

“How do you mean?”

“You may be having a tough time with Lexi, but you need to mend those fences, not go looking to the past.”

I didn’t think it was any of his business, and I wasn’t considering getting together with Anne, but I didn’t want to discuss it with a crowd of men around us.

“What’s the word, Pat? Your boy bring any news back?”

Dad motioned to me and I realized I was expected to report information and instructions to men I would have been intimidated to address by their first names just twenty years ago. It had been that many years since I had seen most of them.

“Ted Riggins has been appointed the head of the effort to get us through this,” I said. Several of the men nodded and a fair number frowned at this first bit of information. Most remained impassive as if the name did not mean anything to them. It probably didn’t.

“He is of the opinion a massive solar flare created an electro-magnetic pulse that has disabled the electrical power for at least this part of the country.”

Murmurs started and several men started to ask questions.

“Quiet!” Dad said. He didn’t yell, but his voice took on the sharp report of a cracking bullwhip.

“The first thing Riggins said we should do is make sure we have plenty of water. Looks like the men here have already been working on that, so at least the south part of town is ahead of the game by a day.”

The men smiled at this and several clapped each other on the back.

“We don’t know when, or if, we will get any news from the government about what is happening or when it will be fixed. So, the first things we need to do is keep the freezers closed, not open packaged or canned food, and cook and eat everything in our refrigerators.”

“Let’s get a fire going!” someone said. I thought it was Luke Carter, a man of large appetites and larger talk. Several others cheered at his proclamation.

“That’s a good idea,” Dad said. “The rest we can talk about tomorrow. We have a little daylight left, so let’s get a large cooking area setup and everyone can gather and eat together.”

“We don’t need to go through that trouble, do we?” I asked. “Most everyone out here has propane stoves, they should still work.”

“We need the wood ash, Davey,” Dad said. “We need to get as much wood ash as we can gather. Having a large fire pit will help gather it, and people can cook and have a sense of being together.”

“Why do we need wood ash?”

“Tomorrow when we build our outhouse, you’ll see why.”

“Outhouse?”

“No water pressure, remember?”

I hadn’t really thought about it. I did need to pee, but the need hadn’t been at the level of discomfort where I sought out a place to relieve myself.

“Where have you been going?” I asked.

“Behind the garage,” he said.

“And Mom?”

Dad sighed and looked down. “I’m not proud, Davey. I slipped some strong sleeping pills into your mom’s coffee. She’s been asleep most of the day. I had Rose come over and keep an eye on her. I just didn’t think she would be capable of dealing with all the changes today brought.”

I nodded and put my hand on his shoulder. As hard as it was for me to deal with her decline from a distance, it paled in comparison to the pain he must go through daily.