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

could make for a quick and dirty lunch. Empty shelves stared back at her, except for a box of pasta packed on top of a box of cereal. Shutting the door, she opened the white pebbled door of the day-to-day refrigerator to find their cold goods in a similar state: milk, drinks, but otherwise barren. Thinking about the vending machines on the second floor, she knew they too were empty of candy and snacks.

She bit her lip. They’d put in a large order at the town’s only grocery store, wanting to keep their spending local, and while the grocer had been pleased with their patronage, he’d promised to send a delivery truck up the mountain in a few days once everything had gotten to him. That truck hadn’t shown up yet, even though she’d expected it around noon. There was still time, but something in the back of Ruth’s mind told her they’d be waiting much longer than expected for their supplies. Shutting the refrigerator door, she let her gut instincts lead her to the walk-in freezer. Opening it up, she expected a whoosh of frosty air to engulf her. Instead, only a half-hearted cloud floated up around her.

“Something the matter, Grandma?” Patton asked from behind her.

“Nothing at all, sweetie. Just checking on things.” She ran her finger against the freezer’s gray seal. Instead of a pliable plastic, she found the seal to be brittle and dirtied with a white, chalky material that didn’t look natural. After standing inside the freezer for more than ten seconds, she should have felt the cold air sinking into her skin. Instead, she felt only slightly chilly. That wasn’t normal.

The power had only been off for a couple of hours. These walk-in freezers should keep things cold for days, even with the power off. The fact that she hadn’t been able to see her breath, the fact that the freezer felt warmer than usual…that was bad. Really bad.

But she tried not to worry. Matthew probably knew the freezer was on the fritz. More likely that Kathleen had made note of it when they’d surveyed the hotel—her daughter-in-law was always cognizant of those kinds of things, seeing where money would be spent with her analytical mind. She’d said it enough throughout the day: if the generator had gone out, more than likely the older appliances in the hotel would be following. The freezer was just one more thing. It would be unlike Kathleen not to notice something like that.

Besides, the power would be back on soon. That was a fact she could always rely on. Even though they’d lost power multiple times in the past week, it always clicked back on. Like clockwork. She closed the freezer, keeping what cold air she could inside, and pocketed her worry until she could talk to David and Matthew. They’d be back later in the day with furniture in tow, and they could discuss it all then.

She grabbed a bowl and spoon, the cereal and milk. Sugar flakes. Some knock-off brand. She waved the box at Patton. “Not much here, sadly. How do you feel about breakfast for lunch?”

“I already had cereal this morning,” Patton mumbled.

“Sorry, kiddo. Not much else. Maybe your dad will bring you back something from the city for dinner.”

Patton perked up at that. “Fast food?”

Ruth tutted. “Junk food, more like.”

“But Grandma”—Patton licked his lips—“French fries.”

Ruth snorted a laugh and poured them each a bowl of cereal. This right here was why she’d decided to go in on this hotel idea with her husband and son. This right here. Family.

5

“Okay,” Matthew said more to himself than to his father, flattening out his hand on the hot silver metal of his truck, “let’s think about this.”

David looked at him expectantly. Matthew’s mind went blank, taking in the inert cars and their owners who had grown angrier as the morning slipped into afternoon. He’d witnessed a couple of disagreements that almost became brawls. More and more, people were abandoning their vehicles and hitting the road on foot. Matthew had never been in a situation like this before, where every reliable piece of his life suddenly fell apart. Not having transportation felt like losing a limb. Not being able to contact his mother or Kathleen gave him similar pangs. For once, he felt truly disconnected and on the heels of that, uncertain of his surroundings. “Should I try calling Kathleen again?” he suggested helplessly.

David pulled out his phone and flipped it open. “I don’t have any bars. How about you?”

Matthew did the same. “Me either. We could always just hang out here for a while. The store is nice and cool. It would get us out of the sun. Then we could try to connect with a tow truck and mechanic when everything comes back on.”

David chewed his lip, his slow response unusual, as if he was keeping something back. “We could also push the truck to the closest mechanic. Stick the truck in neutral and just steer her down the road.”

Matthew tried to keep his look of alarm off his face. Even if David sat in the driver’s seat and turned the wheel, there was no way the two of them could push the truck. Matthew was fit, sure, spending early mornings on a treadmill with his earbuds plugged in, but David was a different story. Pushing a truck across the parking lot, let alone to a mechanic who knew how far away, would definitely qualify for the list of no-no’s from his doctor.

Matthew shot his father a false smile and shook his head. He had to remember his father’s pride. “I don’t think that would work. We don’t know how far that would be, or if a mechanic is even open. Plus, Mom and Patton are out of reach. What if they have to come looking for us and we’re somewhere lost in Madison? You always told me if I got lost the best thing to do was to find a source of water and