Alex Knightly - Sudden Darkness - A Post-Apocalyptic EMP Thriller

He was still trying to make sense of it. Instinct said it was too crazy to be real. How could it be? The whole world wiped out just like that, with no big bang and no warning? Crazy.

But his gut instinct told him it was true. Hours had passed and the power still hadn’t come back on. Nor had the water. He hadn’t seen a single car pass by on the road outside. Josh's laptop wasn’t working either.

He shook his head.

Across the table, Josh was watching him. They’d been sitting like since Pete got back. “I don’t know what else I can say to make you understand.”

“You don’t have to. Look, I understand what you’re saying—it’s some kind of super villain weapon. The thing is, it’s crazy. Don’t you get that? It’s like something out of a comic.”

“I wish it was, Pete. But it’s not. Every piece of equipment with a circuit is likely to have been affected. And there are circuits in things you wouldn’t even think of. Just look outside! Have you seen a car pass by?” Josh's expression changed.

“What? What is it?”

He shook his head. “We can’t sit around here any longer. We need to prepare. I’ve tried explaining it as best I can. You just have to believe me.”

“What do you care if I believe you or not?” Pete snapped.

He was thinking; thinking hard. Josh was a lot of things, but he wasn’t a liar. And what he was saying had huge implications for the rest of their lives. The world as they knew it was over. Josh was on about stocking up and staying put until it was over, but Pete was thinking along different lines.

Harry, his boss. He was a powerful man around those parts. He was a businessman, though his business interests were mostly in areas that weren’t strictly legit. What would Harry do if he knew? Pete shivered. What would it mean if Pete was the one to tell him?

His eyes widened. He wasn’t smart like Josh. He had no qualifications, so he’d be screwed if this was true.

Unless…

“Pete? Pete! I’m talking to you. It’s time to start preparing.”

“What do you mean? You’ve already cleaned Mr Gill out of food.”

“You think that’s it? That food won’t last us a month. We need to get to one of the big supermarkets, but we’ve got to get to the Home Warehouse first.”

“Why? Are you taking up DIY?”

“I’m serious!” Josh hissed. “Things are going to get very rough around here. Not as bad as London or the other big cities, but bad. There’s no land here. People aren’t farmers.”

“Okay, okay,” he said, holding up his hands. “Spare me. You want to build your ark. Knock yourself out.”

“No, you idiot. We need to block up the house. We have nowhere else to go.”

Pete shrugged. “We could always book a hotel. You are loaded.”

“No I’m not. I’ve only been working there nine months and I’ve been paying off Mum’s…” he stopped. “The hotels aren’t going to be open. The power’s off. They’ll have newish generator systems that won’t work either. We’re stuck here and we need to get to work before everyone else realises…”

Josh kept talking, but Pete found himself drifting off. What if he went to Harry and the whole thing turned out to be a big misunderstanding? He’d never live it down. No, worse—he’d have to move. Harry wouldn’t tolerate a liar, no matter how low down in the pecking order he was. Then his mum would have to move too.

The back door opened behind them, causing both brothers to spin around in their chairs. Their mother was upstairs having a sleep. Pete wasn’t sure how she’d taken Josh’s news.

Mo shuffled in. “Alright, lads.”

“We really need to start locking that,” Josh muttered.

Pete’s eyes widened as he nodded to his friend. He’d known Mo for years—probably since they were babies—but he’d never fully trusted him. Mo was always looking for the angle; the in he needed to get one step ahead of you. He’d stab you in the back with your own knife.

“What are you two doing?”

Pete shrugged. “Nothing.” He shot a look at his brother that he hoped Josh would understand as don’t tell him anything . “You?”

Mo shook his head. “Nothing. I’m bored out of my mind. What’s going on? Power’s off; cars are stranded. Found an Audi around the corner from my house. Guy had five hundred quid in the glovebox.”

Pete cringed. Mo had been thieving since they were little kids. He didn’t mind, but he could do without the idiot mentioning it in front of Josh. His family disapproved of him enough as it was. “Oh yeah?”

“Yeah.” Mo had taken something—he could tell by the glassiness of his eyes and the way he was itching to keep talking. “No-one came, Pete. No cops. No-one stopped me. Broad daylight. What the hell’s going on?!”

Pete’s blood ran cold. Unlike some of the others, Mo wasn’t stupid. Far from it. How long until he pieced it together? How long until he ran to Harry with what he’d learned? What would happen then? Pete wouldn’t be able to stand it if Mo got the credit for something he’d known about earlier, but had been too afraid to share.

“No idea,” he muttered. “Do you want to go around to Sam’s?”

Mo said nothing, just stared at the two of them as his jaw worked furiously. Pete didn’t ask him to sit down.

“Come on,” Pete said, moving as if he was going to stand up. “His old man’s got a bottle of vodka hidden in their front room.”

“Does he? I heard she kicked him out again.”

“Maybe she did. I don’t know.” Pete spoke calmly. If Mo knew how desperate he was to get rid of him, he’d never go. “Sam told me about it. Asked if I wanted to come and help him drink it.”

Mo frowned. “Did he? He never said anything to me.”

Pete shrugged. “I dunno. Maybe he forgot.”

“And he remembered to tell you?”

Pete shrugged again. “I don’t know, mate. Anyways, I’m going to go check on Mum and head over there. Wait for me and we’ll go together.”

“Nah,” Mo said, attention already focused elsewhere. “I’ll go on over. Meet you there.”

“I’ll only be a few minutes.”

“See you there.” Mo turned and walked out without another word.

Pete got up and closed the door.

“I don’t know why you bother. You’ve been at each other’s throats since you were six.”

Pete stared at his brother. “What? How would you know?”

“Because I’ve had to watch it.”

“You wouldn’t understand.”

“Yeah, because it’s deep and complicated.” Josh’s sneer disappeared. “You shouldn’t sell that stuff.”

“What stuff?”

“You know what stuff. Whatever Mo’s been snorting. Do you think I’m stupid or something?”

“I don’t know what you mean.”

“Yeah, you do. Course you do. You don’t think Mum knows? Breaks her heart it does.”

Pete’s heart pounded. “I’ve no idea what you’re on about. Maybe you’ve been snorting something.”

Josh groaned and sat back heavily in his chair, causing the old wood to creak. “Whatever you say. I’m sure you’ll find a way to wriggle out of it and I’m not interested in sitting here and listening to you deny it. We have more important things to do. Let’s go to the Home Warehouse.”

“What, now?”

“Of course now. Things are going to deteriorate fast. We’ve wasted enough time as it is.”

Pete’s heart raced. Mo was gone. To Sam’s, most likely. Pete and Sam’s friendship wound him up so much he probably couldn’t resist. But that wouldn’t keep him out of Pete’s hair forever. Mo knew something was up. It was only a matter of time…

He stood up. “Maybe later. There’s something I need to do first.”