EMP Catastrophe , Hamilton, Grace [crime books to read txt] 📗

event is a foreign attack. If it were only small areas of Chicago that were out of power, or weird electromagnetic effects, I’d guess a solar flare. But this? I keep coming back to a nuclear bomb. If one were detonated above the country, it would cause an EMP that would take out our electronic infrastructure, and the effects would be far-reaching and long-lasting.”

“How long?” Kathleen asked and took a raspberry out of the bowl, placing it in her mouth. The sweetness burst on her tongue.

Rhonda shrugged. “Who knows? Can you think of anything that doesn’t run on electricity these days? All our communication, our transportation, our food delivery, is all based on computer programming. If an EMP wiped all of that out, we’d be thrown back in time, technology-wise. Many newer cars dependent on computer machinery to run would be inoperable. It’s probably the reason why your SUV wouldn’t start, Kathleen. We’d need to figure out how to grow our own crops because let me tell you, you won’t be able to pump gas into a car—if you have it—because the electronics are fried.”

Kathleen swallowed hard. “They can’t just…boot the systems back up? Do a hard reset? You know, turn it off and back on again?”

“Can you boot back up a computer once the motherboard has been destroyed? Can you recover a car whose engine has exploded?” Rhonda shook her head. “Unlikely. You’d need new parts. Lots of new parts. How are we going to get them? We can’t communicate with anyone. We can’t get shipments in from other countries and get those goods where they need to go. There are so many small details that people don’t think about, and all of those details have become automated. Take out the automation and the whole system grinds to a halt.”

A new type of dread twisted Kathleen’s insides. She wondered if she was going to be sick. Her mind sought an alternative explanation: It can’t be! There’s no way something like that could happen! Just last night, she’d had her phone plugged in, her music casting through her wireless speakers, her car full of gas and ready to drive. How could she have known that in hours, she’d be biking across Illinois and sitting at Rhonda’s kitchen table?

What else could have destroyed the power grid? Lots of angry squirrels? An uprising of…of…trees with wild branches that snagged in the transformers across the whole state? She put her head in her hands. Those were more outlandish than an EMP—and EMPs were actually taught in schools.

Rhonda reached out and rubbed Kathleen’s shoulder to comfort her. “Kathleen, I know you probably don’t want to hear this, but I think it might be better if you and Allison stay here with me for a while. To put it plainly, it’s just not safe out there. When people get threatened, they get ugly. When their whole society begins to crumble? It gets worse.”

The rubbing continued as did Rhonda’s voice at Kathleen’s silence. “I’ve stocked up for about a year. Food, water, supplies, and this home will be a defensible compound by the end of the week. You’re more than welcome here. In fact, I’d feel a lot better if you stayed. We could try to contact your family and let them know.”

Kathleen looked up, knowing she looked a mess. Hair disheveled, dirt on her face, sweat under her armpits. Her blouse did her no favors. For a split second, she considered what it would be like staying with Rhonda. Matthew would be out of his mind with worry if she disappeared without a word. Rhonda was right. They relied on instant communication too much. And leaving Patton without knowing where his mother and sister had gone? She couldn’t do that to her family. They had to get home, especially if it was as bad as Rhonda indicated. “I can’t,” she said softly. “My husband, my son…they’d probably get in more trouble trying to find us.”

“I understand,” Rhonda said. “Most likely they’ll be traveling back to your hotel, so at least you’ll know, generally, where everyone will be heading.”

“That’s our compound, at least.” Kathleen tried to smile, imagined it to be sickly looking.

“Well, rest up.” Rhonda stood and went to her fridge, opening it up and pulling out foodstuffs before shutting it quickly. “We’ll have you on your way in no time. Could you imagine, though, Matthew trekking across the Midwest and ending up at my front door? He’d think I was holding you hostage.”

Kathleen snorted a laugh. “He’s mellowed out. You two would actually get along.”

Rhonda nodded. “That’s the best thing about time. Gives people a chance to grow. It’s funny, Matthew kind of ended up being like my husband. I had to convince him about all this prepper stuff, but now he’s on board. Relax, Kathleen. Eat some food, drink some water. Take a breather. You’ll be on the road soon enough.”

Silence settled around them as Rhonda stood up and made them ham and cheese sandwiches, rounding out the meal with fruit. Having eaten, Kathleen felt her energy spike. Her head cleared, the emotional and physical mist of exertion finally giving her a view of the landscape she and Allison were stuck in. Allison had put her head on her arms on the table and fallen into a doze.

Then Rhonda sat back down at the kitchen table and chatted with Kathleen about her kids, filling the air with notes about her husband and three children—all boys down to their core, she’d grown sick of buying trucks and Legos, thought Kathleen lucky to have a girl to spoil—and her husband was a successful carpenter out speaking with their neighbors about what to expect in the coming days. Many of their neighbors tolerated Rhonda as a prepper, but now that things looked dire, she hoped they’d become more understanding and open to learning about how to prepare. Warmth filled Kathleen as she listened to Rhonda’s life, a kind of happiness that someone she’d known had lived