Kyle asked, “What makes you so sure?”
“I was at a military conference about a year ago. We were there to specifically discuss the effects of an EMP. From a military perspective, a nuclear device can trigger an EMP. One good nuclear weapon high above the center of the United States would send us back to the stone age.” He angrily tossed his empty coffee cup into a large trashcan by the wall. “Our society is dependent on high technology and we’re not prepared for an event like this. Once an EMP destroys the power grid and micro circuitry, it is, literally, lights out. We were warned, but nobody did anything to harden our infrastructure.”
Robert sat stoically, listening to the colonel and Kyle speak. He was trying to mentally digest what the colonel was explaining.
Kyle nervously asked, “So you think we were hit by a nuclear weapon? I saw the flash of colored lights, but I didn’t hear an explosion or see a mushroom cloud.”
The colonel leaned forward toward the table, placing his palms flat down on it and looking them both in the eyes and with dire conviction, explained how there did not have to be a bomb. The colonel believed it was a massive solar event that he referred to as a coronal mass ejection. He told Robert and Kyle that solar storms cause northern lights, and a solar disturbance that could cause the dark sky to glow as bright as the noon sun had to be massive.
“Three days at the most. Heed my warning.” The colonel stood up, paused, and looked out the large window, noticing it was finally past daybreak. “And then there will be total chaos, especially in the urban areas. Those living in rural areas, not so dependent on the grid, will not have it as bad. I would suggest getting home to your families as soon as possible.” The colonel yawned, stretched, and put his hands on his hips. The cold coffee was not strong enough for him. “My plan is to get to the nearest military base, as quickly as possible, and pull rank to get in.”
Robert asked, “How do you plan on getting there? You can’t drive or fly there.”
The colonel shrugged his shoulders and said, “I’ll start walking and then maybe, if I’m lucky, I’ll steal a bicycle.”
Sarcastically, Kyle said, “Then get thrown in jail like a criminal and get kicked out of the military.”
As the colonel spoke, with his hands behind his back, they saw the bulge of a pistol at his waist. “The delicate network of technology that held everything so nicely together is gone. There is no federal government or organized military. It’ll be groups of people just trying to survive. I expect ninety percent of the population will be dead in a year. What just happened is an absolute game changer.” The colonel lifted up his shirt from the front exposing the pistol tucked behind his belt and said, “I won’t be an easy target for any banditos on my journey out of here. I’m a survivor.” Colonel Sheppherd moved closer to the breakfast counter and said, “I’m going to get a stash of this food and get out of here. Good luck. You’ll need it.”
After the colonel left, there were a few moments of silence between Robert and Kyle.
“What he just said scares the shit out of me,” said Robert. “I need some proof it’s that bad. Let’s look around. I’ll start by checking my laptop. I’m going to get my room key. Care to join me?”
“Let’s do it.”
As they walked to the front desk, Robert changed his mind and told Kyle to bring Richard back inside, get Henry, and then come to Robert’s room. They all needed to talk. Robert thought that by the time he got back into his room, Kyle would have everyone gathered together.
After Lee opened Robert’s door for him, Robert left it ajar and immediately tried the power button on his computer. He got no response. He then tried his cell phone again. Same response: nothing. Everything seemed fried, just as the colonel had predicted. He sat on the small couch in his hotel room and stared at his useless phone as he thought of his children so far away. His son Brad, just seven years old; his daughter Jennifer, only four. His wife had stayed at home with the children. The pulse was early enough in the morning that he thought it was most likely they would all have been at home asleep when this happened. Thinking of his family, his stomach tightened into a knot.
He closed his eyes as he faced the sunlight coming through the window. He was remembering the conversation with his son on the phone yesterday evening. His son asked when he would get back home; Robert told him that he would return on Friday. Robert’s face cringed as he thought about his situation. How the hell am I going to ever make it back home from here alive? He shook his head, opened his eyes, and stood up to look out the window. Now that it was fully light outside, he could see that no cars on the road were moving. He cringed again. That colonel might be right about all this.
“Knock, knock,” Kyle announced, as he entered Robert’s room with Richard right behind him.
“Hey, Robert, it sounds like you need a foil hat, too,” Richard said sarcastically, as he fondled another sugar doughnut in his hand.
“My laptop is dead, Richard,” Robert said, as he walked to the window and completely opened the curtains. He gestured with his hand for Richard to look out the window. “Take a look at the cars on the road. They’re stalled. Why haven’t they been towed? See any lights on anywhere?”
The three men looked out the window. As they looked down at the stalled vehicles in the street, Robert unlocked the window and slid it open to allow some fresh air into the room.
Richard leaned closer to the window and looked to the left and right. “Hey, I think I heard something. There’s an old beat-up pickup truck… It’s parking right over there… look!”
Robert laughed and said, “Yeah, that thing is older than me, no high technology to get fried in that engine.”
Robert noticed Henry was missing and asked, “Where is Henry?”
Richard pointed at Kyle and said, “He beat on Henry’s door. Henry is going to be pissed off. He never gets up this early.”
With a confused look on his face, Robert asked again, “Then where is he?”
Richard rolled his eyes and said, “Earth to Robert, he didn’t answer the door. He’s probably still asleep.”
In an instant, Robert’s face took on an expression of horror. He bolted out of his room and down the hallway. In his haste, he bumped Richard, knocking the doughnut out of Richard’s hand onto the carpeted floor.
Robert exclaimed, “Henry has a pacemaker! We have to get that door open!”
Kyle sprinted out of the room right behind Robert.
Alone in the room, Richard looked at the doughnut on the floor and said, “Five second rule,” before he grabbed the pastry off the floor and made it disappear with one bite.
Robert stopped in front of what he thought was Henry’s room and asked, “Is this it?”
Kyle nodded.
As Robert stepped away from the door, he said, “Stand back. I’m going to kick this door down.”
Before Kyle stood back, he pointed to the door’s sweet spot for Robert, right by the handle, but Robert already saw his target. Robert took a deep breath, clenched his teeth and fists, coiled his foot up to his body and let it fly forward like a steel spring. As his foot contacted the door, they both heard a crack in the wood. Kyle gave him an approving nod. Robert backed up again and sent his foot flying hard at the same spot near the handle. On second contact, the wood holding the locking mechanism splintered away and the door flew open. They stepped into the room and saw Henry’s body on the bed, contorted under the sheets. He was lying in vomit.