James Hunt - Broken Lines

“What we’re experiencing isn’t a power outage. It’s the effects of an EMP burst. Anything that has a microprocessor in it is completely useless,” Mike explained.

“The whole country can’t be like this,” Kalen said.

“I think it is. If it weren’t, we would have heard from someone by now,” Mike said.

“W-what does that mean?” Freddy asked.

“We’re going to be fine,” Anne said.

“We’re going to stay here as long as we can, but we’ll probably need to head to the cabin in a few days,” Mike said.

Kalen shot up out of her chair.

“In Ohio?” she asked.

“Yes,” Mike said.

“We should leave now,” Ulysses said.

Mike hadn’t heard him enter the kitchen. His father wiped some grease from his hands with a rag and threw it over his shirt.

“Dad, what are you doing?” Mike asked.

“Changing the oil in your Jeep. Want to make sure it’s good to go in case we have to leave in a hurry.”

“Why do we have to leave at all? What about James? What about school? My friends? What about my life!” Kalen screamed.

“Kalen, sit down,” Anne snapped.

Kalen dropped into her chair.

“Look, we don’t know when or how bad this is going to get, but we all need to be ready. From here on out we always walk in pairs. Freddy. Kalen. You two aren’t allowed anywhere without your mom, Grandpa, or me,” Mike said.

“Noooo.”

This time the cries of both Freddy and Kalen were unanimous.

“No exceptions,” Mike said. “We also need to keep what we have to ourselves. I don’t want people knowing about the Jeep, or our provisions in the cellar, okay?”

“Why can’t we tell anyone, Dad?” Freddy asked.

“Because we can’t help—”

Mike cut himself off. He thought back to the young man who was shot, the hospital, and the walk home. All of those moments were sacrifices of his time and energy to help people in need around him. The man looking at him with greasy hands standing in the kitchen taught him that. What was he teaching his own son now?

“We need to make sure we protect our family first. We’re a team. All of us,” Mike said.

“Yeah, and we’ll need all the food we can get with those hollow legs of yours,” Ulysses said, coming up behind Freddy and patting his grandson’s leg. Freddy giggled.

“First things first,” Mike said. “I want everyone to have an emergency bag with anything you’d want to bring with you ready and packed in case we need to get out quickly. Go.”

Freddy ran enthusiastically up the stairs. Kalen dragged herself back to her room.

“You too,” Mike said to Anne. They kissed and she walked back to their room.

Mike walked back over to the stove. The pot was boiling now. He added the hot water to a bowl of oatmeal and stirred.

“Michael,” Ulysses said.

“Dad, I can’t turn our house into the Salvation Army,” Mike said.

“You’re doing the right thing, son.”

Mike dropped the spoon back down into the mush of oats in front of him. He looked up at his father. The face he was staring at wasn’t the face of iron he remembered as a child. It was a face of understanding.

“You think so?” Mike asked.

“I do. You have to take care of your own before you take care of someone else. I know sometimes I wasn’t the best with feelings, but I was only that way because I knew I didn’t have to worry about you. You can take care of yourself. Now, you can take care of your family.”

“Thanks, Dad.”

“Don’t hold out on me, Frank, I know you have some!”

“I’m telling you, Adam, I don’t have any.”

Mike dropped the saw from the plywood he was cutting when he heard the shouts from the neighbor’s house. His tool belt hung from his waist. He pushed the side gate open from the backyard. The shouting became louder the closer he moved to the front yard.

“My whole family is starving and you’ve got enough to feed two families for a week!”

“Adam, I’m telling you I don’t have as much as you think I do. I’m just trying to keep my family going on what I have.”

Mike turned the corner and saw Adam Stahls’ red face beaming with anger. Adam’s nose was pressed against the screen door that Frank Minks was hiding behind.

“Hey, what’s going on?” Mike asked.

Adam marched toward Mike focusing his rage on a new target.

“This prick is holding out on us, Mike,” Adam said.

“Easy, Adam,” Mike said.

Mike kept his hand close to the hammer around his belt. Adam paced back and forth in the driveway.

“Where the hell are the relief efforts, huh? Why hasn’t everything turned back on? Why the fuck can’t I turn my car on and drive to the grocery store!” Adam screamed.

Adam collapsed to his hands and knees on the concrete. A few tears splashed the driveway.

“My boy said he was hungry and I can’t… I don’t have anything to give him.”

Frank came out from behind the screen door. He and Mike knelt down to Adam and helped him up.

“Frank, why don’t we go around and get a pool going for anything that can be spared. I bet we could get a little something from everyone,” Mike said.

“Yeah, we can do that,” Frank replied.

“Adam, you head back home. Frank and I will see what we can put together, okay?” Mike said.

Adam wiped the embarrassment from his eyes and nodded. Mike watched him shuffle back over to his home. Mike noticed faces peering out from behind blinds from the front windows of a few of the houses, checking out the commotion.

Anne came out the front door and joined them.

“What’s going on?” she asked.

“Put together some goods for the Stahls,” Mike said.

“Anne, wait,” Frank said.

He rushed back inside and came out with a few cans of peaches.

“For Adam,” Frank said.

The sun dipped below the horizon when Mike finally finished cutting the plywood. He started labeling each one: Living room. Kitchen. Bedroom. Each piece had small holes cut close to the corners that would allow them to look outside. He brought them in the house and rested each piece of plywood at its corresponding location.

“What are you doing?” Anne asked.

“For the windows. In case things get bad,” he said.

“I gave those supplies to Adam. He broke down when he saw them. I’ve never seen him like that before.”

“Nobody was ready for this.”

“You were.”

Anne grabbed his arm and pulled him over to her. She rested her face on his chest and he rested his chin on the top of her head. Her hair was still warm from the sun and there was still the faint scent of her shampoo, lingering under his nose.

The two of them rocked slowly back and forth. The room around them was still and quiet. The light breaking through the windows caught the swirls of dust flying around in the room.

“You know… I think I’m going to have to overrule your no shower rule,” she said.

Mike pinched her and she squealed. She threw her head back laughing.

“You smell really bad,” she said.

“Better get used to it,” he said.

“You’re a good man,” she said.

A knock from the front door interrupted their kiss. Mike lifted the back of his shirt, revealing the pistol and checked the peephole. When he saw who it was he flipped his shirt down and opened the door.

Nelson’s eyes went to his feet. His hands fidgeted awkwardly at his sides.

“It’s just. Well, I heard about what you did for Adam and I…”

“How much do you need?” Mike asked.

There wasn’t any malice in Mike’s words, no sense of mockery or “I told you so,” just a genuine concern. Nelson kept his head down.