No Ordinary Day , Tate, Harley [ebook offline .TXT] 📗

Emma opened the door, a pint-sized Chihuahua tore down the front steps barking and carrying on. Emma’s lips cracked as she smiled at Holly. “That’s Pringles. He’s all bark.” She opened the car door, but a booming voice stopped her still.

“We don’t accept trespassers here. Be on your way.”

 Emma stuck her hands out of the window and stood up. “Hey, Raymond.”

A man stepped off the porch, shotgun in his hand. He squinted at Emma before breaking out into a grin. He turned to the cabin. “Hey, babe! We’ve got company.”

Emma never thought she’d be so happy to see a former coworker in her life. Gloria hurried down the steps, wrapping a cardigan around her shoulders to ward off the morning chill. She stopped when she caught sight of the car.

“Did you trade in the electric for a... clunker?”

“When you’re running for your life, you’ll take anything with wheels.”

Gloria’s mouth fell open. “What are you talking about?”

Emma smiled. “I’ll fill you in.”

The passenger door opened, and Holly eased out of the car.

Emma nodded in her direction. “Gloria, you remember Zach’s daughter, Holly, right?”

Gloria frowned. “I think the last time I saw you, you still had braces.”

Holly pulled her lower lip across her teeth. She was on the verge of breaking down.

“Could we come in?” Emma asked. “Maybe have a cup of something warm to drink?”

Gloria shifted into hostess mode, waving her arm wide in welcome. “Of course. Come in. Make yourselves at home.”

Pringles darted around Emma’s feet, hopping up on her shin and yipping. She bent down to pet the scrap of a dog and choked back a sob. Leaving Tank was one of the hardest things she’d had to do since all of this started, but what choice did she have?

Emma followed Gloria into the cabin, ushering Holly along with her. The place was cozy, with a main living area open to a small, tidy kitchen and a single bedroom on the main floor. A loft tucked into the roof above afforded a pair of twin beds and a view of the mountains every sunrise. Emma had been there a few times for long weekends when Raymond was out of town. It was Gloria’s favorite place in the world.

Emma understood why, now more than ever.

Gloria busied herself in the kitchen, setting a tea kettle on the gas stove to boil while Holly excused herself to the bathroom. When the door shut, Gloria turned to Emma. “What’s going on?”

Emma stepped close enough to whisper. What she had to say wouldn’t be easy. “You were right. About the car following you and the danger we’re in. Zach—” Emma faltered. “Zach was murdered.”

Gloria’s eyes widened and she almost knocked the kettle off the stove. “When?”

“Right about when we lost power. I was stuck in an elevator at Fielding. By the time I got to his place, he was already dead. We found Holly in the basement, hiding.”

Gloria raised a brow. “Who’s we?”

Emma swallowed. “John. He’d been in the elevator with me when the power went out. I thought—” There was no good way to say it. “I thought he was a good guy, but—”

“Did he try to get in your pants?”

Emma waved her off. “Nothing like that. Turns out... at least I think... He might be trying to kill us.”

Gloria scrunched her face in disbelief. “You just said he went with you to Zach’s.”

“He did.” Emma sighed. “It’s a long story.”

The door to the bathroom opened and Holly ducked into the room. She tugged her sweatshirt over her fingers and wrapped her arms around herself.

Gloria smiled. “Tea is just about ready, hon. Come sit at the table.” Gloria pulled a chair wide and offered it to Holly. “I’m sorry to hear about your father. He was a good man.”

Holly’s brow knit as she focused on the table. Her lip wobbled.

“About that tea.” Emma tried to distract them all, holding up selections from Gloria’s tin and advising Holly on the flavors. When they all were sitting at the table, she sobered. “Before you get too used to us visiting, we need to catch you up.” Emma glanced at the front door. “Ray should hear this. too.”

Gloria ushered Raymond inside, and together they listened to Emma’s story, beginning with the elevator and ending with the mad dash away from the family in the woods. The whole time, Holly sat, legs pinned to chest, chin resting on her knees.

Gloria reached out a hand and patted the girl’s arm. “What an ordeal. I’m so sorry you’ve been through it all.”

The girl nodded, unable to speak.

Emma cupped her hands around her mug. “Now that you’re apprised, I completely understand if you don’t want us to stay.”

Gloria glanced at Raymond. “I’m fine with them staying. What do you think, honey?”

“They stay.” Raymond made a fist on the table. “If you’re a target, then so is Gloria. We have land, weapons. We’re basically off the grid. We can hide out here and defend ourselves if need be.” He leaned back. “It’s what we’d prepared to do anyway ever since the EMP.”

Emma swallowed. She’d almost forgotten about the power grid sitting in their cabin with electricity and heat. Thanks to the solar panels on the roof and the propane tank out back, the Sanchez family didn’t need city electric to keep their cabin operational. She turned to Ray. “What do you know about what’s happened? We’ve only heard bits and pieces.”

Ray sobered, running a hand across his chin. “Based on what we’ve seen and heard, it’s looking like complete grid collapse. No power to the entire United States, except maybe a few pockets in Texas. Fried substations for water, natural gas, you name it.”

He leaned back. “Since everything is hooked up to the grid, everything is ruined. Gas companies scrambled to keep what they could operational, water the same. But without the pumps and the regulators, everything that hasn’t failed yet, will.”

Emma swallowed hard. She hadn’t stopped to think about how reliant the world had become on electricity. Now that everything