William Weber - Zero Day

“The situation seems to be under control,” Evan told him. He sounded relieved, but incredibly weary. “Once the latest delivery of diesel for the generators arrives, that’ll buy us another forty-eight hours. There’s something you should know. This same struggle hasn’t gone so well in other parts of the country. There have been meltdowns. One in California and…”

“I know,” Nate cut in. “A neighbor of ours has a shortwave we’ve been using to collect information from the rest of the country. This isn’t isolated to Illinois or even to the Midwest. The power’s out in all of North America.”

The line was silent.

“You knew, didn’t you?” Nate said, accusingly.

“I can’t say what I know,” Evan replied, enigmatically. “The military arrived this morning in giant APCs. They brought their own engineers and have been making our lives a living hell, questioning every decision we’ve made. Wasting time instead of giving us medals for saving the county. If they just stick to the protocol I laid out, we should be fine.”

Nate told him about the evacuation plan.

“Rockford, eh? Well, we’re not quite there yet.”

“Hey, if the military’s so keen to take over, why don’t you let them and come home?” There was a touch of sadness and desperation in Nate’s voice.

“Don’t worry, big brother. Someone’s gotta watch the farm. You just make sure the house is nice and warm for when I make it out. I haven’t seen a bar of soap in far too long.” He might just as well have been describing a stint at a maximum-security prison.

Nate laughed. “Would you believe it’s only been forty-eight hours since the lights went out?”

His brother returned the gesture with even more enthusiasm. “Forty-eight hours might as well be an eternity when you’re living one second to the next.”

And with that, Nate gave Evan his customary farewell. “Stay safe, bro.”

Nate was by the fireplace, nursing a steaming mug of instant coffee—one he couldn’t remember ever tasting quite so good—when he felt the ground shake violently beneath his feet. That strange and unsettling feeling was followed a second later by a loud boom that rattled the windows and shook the house.

Amy called up from the basement in alarm. She had been grabbing a few items for dinner when the concussive blast wave from the explosion had struck them.

Hunter skidded in from the living room, flipping aside the chocolate-colored fleece blanket acting as a heat barrier as he blew past it.

“Oh, my God, did you feel that?” he shouted, eyes wide, standing in dramatic contrast to his freckled cheeks. “I think we’re under attack. Those guys are back.”

“Hunter, relax!” Nate barked, already by the window and scanning the empty snow drifts outside. The assailants hadn’t returned. A detonation that strong could only mean one thing. Reactors number one and perhaps two at the Byron nuclear power plant had just exploded.

The nightmare scenario was happening. The proverbial bullet he had let himself believe they had dodged might have struck after all.

In a flash, Nate was dressed in his winter parka, poised on the back deck. Deep lines formed along his brow over what he was seeing in the distance.

First Amy, then Lauren, and finally the twins ran out to watch. Two generations of Bauers stood transfixed at the same nightmarish scene. Emmitt’s head was tilted back, his jaw hanging open in bewilderment.

High above the tree line a billowing black cloud rose into the sky, its upper edges spreading ominously outward with every second that passed.

With fingers numbed by a combination of cold and terror, Nate fished the Geiger out of his pocket and switched it on. The Geiger came to life almost at once, spitting out a loud crackling sound.

“We need to leave and right away,” Nate told them, heading back in. Hunter’s thoughtless and dangerous negligence leaving the keys in the family car had just made their situation infinitely worse.

For its part, the explosion at the plant had distilled the present moment to a single point. All of the safety features they’d tried implementing these last forty-eight hours had failed in critical and disastrous fashion. It wasn’t much of a logical leap to assume the core had melted down and was in the process of spreading a deadly aura of radiation over the entire area.

“Kids,” Amy shouted. “Run to your rooms and grab your go-bags, just like I taught you.”

Nearby, Lauren was trying to hold herself together. “We aren’t coming back any time soon, so take whatever you can carry.”

Nate had a list of his own which included the shotgun and a duffel bag filled with ammo. He then sprinted into the basement and the shelves filled with food, loading up with everything he could carry. Wherever they were headed, he wouldn’t take for granted that food would be plentiful.

Faced with such a dire predicament, their choice was simple enough. Either they fled with their go-bags and headed for the evacuation bus he had discussed with Carl, or they could take their chances on their own. The pickup had two seats, with maybe a third seat up front for one of the twins. That meant Lauren and one of the other boys would be sitting in the flatbed, covered in blankets, hoping for the best. If anything went wrong, if the gas gauge on the dodge overestimated what was left in the tank or conditions on the road between here and Rockford were harsher than they anticipated, it could very easily mean the difference between life or death. Sure, it was a simple choice, but one loaded with risk. There was another issue they hadn’t factored in. What about Evan? Would he be evacuated on his own? Would he head back home, uncertain where they’d all gone? Or would he stay at the plant, attempting to limit the damage? Or worse yet, could he have been killed in the blast? In good conscience, Nate couldn’t simply leave his brother behind. He had already lost one sibling, he wasn’t going to lose another.

Minutes later, everyone was assembled by the front door. Each of them had layered up in long johns, thick socks, sweaters along with all their outdoor winter gear. The go-bags Amy had helped them pack also contained essentials they would likely need in the coming days—dry socks, changes of underwear and clothing, along with a first-aid kit, iodine tablets, water bottle and some high-energy protein bars. It was important to be nimble in situations like this. Fight the urge to pack everything including the kitchen sink. Nor was it possible to anticipate any and every situation. Nate had read about how in special forces units, each member had their primary role and specialty. That helped them do more with less. Efficiency was the goal and Nate was glad he and Amy had insisted Evan’s family had taken this seriously back when things were relatively calm.

Nate’s own bag contained the majority of the high-tech gear he’d picked up over the years. Some of the items he’d found online while others had come from camping stores and specialty outlets. On the plus side, much of it was brand new and in working order.

While his family was prepared, he knew the vast majority of folks rarely thought further ahead than what to eat for dinner or watch on TV.

Then came the sound of a car horn from outside.

This wasn’t time for democracy. It was time for a decision, and a decision he had already made. Confident they had most of what they would need, at least in the short term, he laid out the plan.

“We’re going to load the pickup. Lauren, Hunter and Emmitt will ride with Carl and Liz in their car.”

The horn sounded again and the boys looked outside at Carl and his wife waving them on.

“Where are we going?” Emmitt asked, frightened.