William Stone - How We Survive - EMP Survival in a Powerless World

Hatfield lifted a hand in surrender. “Captain, we appreciate your hospitality. No more explanation is needed.”

The captain nodded cordially. But Jess’s face remained blood red, eyes on the leader like bullets.

After another tense moment of silence, three familiar sad-faced figures with backpacks stepped up to the table. They were Grace, Gary, and Andy. Cecil turned from his dinner and extended a hand. “Ah! I see you finished packing!” After a warm handshake with each of them, he added, “Perhaps the Hatfields can give you a lift to whatever destination you had in mind.”

“Sure, guys,” Hatfield said. “We’ll be leaving in a second.”

“It is deeply unfortunate that the seven of you must part with us on such unhappy terms, but—”

Another camouflaged young man entered the dining room, barely able to push his words through a storm of coughs. “Captain, I’m… sorry to interrupt… but we’re out of cough syrup and—”

“Is anybody else coughing?” Jess asked.

“Just about… all of us,” the young man answered.

“If you’ve used up all that cough syrup,” Jess said, “and the cough persists, this is something serious.”

“What else can we do?” he asked.

“You’re going to need more medical supplies,” she said. “You can’t get by on what you have.”

“Is that hospital still there on Roberts Street?” Hatfield asked Cecil.

“Yes, it is, but I can’t imagine it would still be in working order.”

“It might be,” Jess said. “They have generators on reserve in case of outages and such. It would be worth a try.

Cecil gave her a gentle smile. “Thank you so much for your help, Mrs. Hatfield. We’ll let the doctors and nurses take care of things from here.”

She replied, “Captain Payne, there’s no way the hospital would still be in the kind of shape to take in new patients as overwhelmed as they probably are right now. The best you can hope for is getting your hands on the medicine you need.”

The young man asked, “But what good is having… the medicine without somebody who knows… what they’re doing with it?”

“Captain, my wife is a registered nurse,” Hatfield said. “Say what you will about the rest of us, but having her around would be a tremendous asset.”

Cecil nodded, eyes at the table. After a deep breath, he said. “Let’s take a look at the hospital to assess the situation. Who’s with me?”

Six volunteers stood, the Hatfield family plus two others.

Jess told her kids, “Tami and Justin, it may be safer for you to stay here.”

“We just want to help, Mom,” her daughter said.

Hatfield kissed her on the forehead. “You will in time, I’m sure.”

“Would you be so kind as to give us a lift there in your Humvee?” Cecil asked.

“Of course,”

“Let’s go.”

As they headed out, Hatfield saw Gary, Andy, and Grace walking away, their gait slowed by sadness. He stepped away from the group, headed to the Hummer, and shouted, “Guys!”

He discreetly raced up to them as they turned, “Look, maybe I can talk Cecil into letting you guys stay on—”

“No, it’s no use,” Andy said, angry eyes trained on the captain. “It’s not your fault he can be so pig-headed.”

“Besides,” Gary added, “There’s a barn down the road we can probably crash at safely. Not a sure thing, but it’s worth a try.”

“But what will you eat?”

Gary gave him a peek inside his backpack at some things wrapped in aluminum foil. “Don’t worry. We got some food and other goodies that’ll hold us for a while. If you like, we can save a little for you and your family when you join us.”

“Well, I was hoping we could convince Cecil to—”

Andy gave his head a violent shake. “No way. Knowing him, he’ll find a way to get all the help he can get out of your wife and still leave you and your family out in the cold. That’s just the way he rolls.”

“Doesn’t seem like a bad guy to me,” Hatfield said.

“He isn’t most of the time,” Grace said, softer than her friends. “He’s dependable and always a guy you can rely on.”

Andy added, “That’s his problem. You can always rely on him to follow every rule every time. Break one and you're gone.”

He took one final look then shook each of their hands. “Well, in spite of everything, our family appreciates you and the help you gave us. Good luck.”

“You too,” they answered in unison. Andy’s eyes were still sending daggers at Cecil as they walked away.

From a block away, the hospital looked like an ancient ruin. No lights, no movement. Just a giant, lifeless, dilapidated building. Nothing changed as they drove closer. With Hatfield at the wheel, Jess in the passenger seat, and Cecil sharing the back seat with a young homesteader, the car came to a stop.

“Looks like your hunch was correct,” Cecil said. “It appears not to be open.”

Hatfield said, “Maybe we should take a closer look.”

“Let’s go.”

The four of them exited the car and raced up the steps. The front door was open, hanging there and nearly torn from its hinges. Gazing inside, they saw only more darkness and heard nothing at all.

“What’s this?” Jess asked.

A sign scribbled in pen on the door caught her attention.

She read it. “Due to security concerns, St. Joseph’s Hospital has decided to suspend operations. Any emergencies should be handled at home.” She shook her head in sadness, eyes watering.

“Looks like the place has been ransacked,” the homesteader called from inside.

Cecil took out a flashlight and led the way with it. Each step they took was more dispiriting than the last. Boxes of pills were strewn all over the floor. Equipment smashed.

Jess picked through the wreckage. “Feels awful just to take things.”

Cecil said, “Understandably. But I don’t imagine anyone will be coming back for anything.”

Jess said, “These look like—”

Not far away, a crash rang out, metallic and loud. Jess leaped into her husband’s arms.

“Guys, I don’t think it’s a good idea to be in here unarmed,” he said.

“Agreed,” the captain said. “Let’s get gone.”

They scrambled down the hallway and out of the building.

After settling into the Hummer, they caught their breath as Hatfield started it up and took off.

“Next time, we’ll bring everybody we can spare—armed,” Cecil said. “We didn’t count on having company.” And when the young homesteader coughed a few times, he leaned forward and addressed the couple. “Mrs. Hatfield, it seems we could very much use having your services at the compound. On behalf of all of us, I cordially invite you and your family to stay. I deeply apologize for waiting so long to reach this realization.”

“Apology accepted and invitation accepted.”

“Thank you. As for you, Mr. Hatfield, I have a question: are you handy with a rifle?”

“Handy enough.”

“THAT’S IT, sir! You’re getting better,” the guy said to his boss.

Nathan put down his rifle and gazed at the target. “Look at that! I almost got a bullseye once.”

“Yeah, nice shooting.”

The leader sprang out of his crouch and walked toward the target, eager to gaze at his handiwork. “Look at that! One close to a bullseye, and I didn’t miss the target, not once!”

Zan was shaping up as a nice second-in-command. He’d connected with the gang after breaking free from prison during the riot. Nathan didn’t ask what he was in for, but he got the feeling it wasn’t for parking tickets. He had a lean, scarred face, tattoos everyplace one would fit, and a frighteningly muscular body. He also knew how to take orders without thinking he was partly in charge.