Free Grid Down: A Strike against America - An EMP Survival Story- Book Two by Roger Hayden

for the life of me, I don’t see that you have any.”
    “Take their cars and kill ’em!” a man shouted from the crowd. Raucous cheers followed. The crowd was ablaze with passion. Mila turned to get a look at the crowd, hoping to spot people she knew—neighbors, coworkers, friends, anyone. Everyone looked the same—pale, dirty, and malnourished. Many of them had scabs and blisters on their faces. They seemed wild and feral—devoid of humanity, altered in some basic way in just two and a half months. It was an unbelievable sight.
    “Now, now,” Arthur began. “I want to get to the bottom of this before we kill anyone. I would never have thought these outsiders dumb enough to just burst into town without some kind of assurances.” He turned to Rob. “Am I right?”
    “Yes,” Rob stated with conviction. “Your men took a radio from me, and I would like it back now.”
    Stunned and boisterous laughter followed from those standing nearby. Arthur seemed to want to play along—as if wanting to prolong the taunting display of authority he commanded over the outsiders.
    “Whoever took Rob’s radio, please give it back,” he said.
    A tall, skinny man with a shaved head and goatee stepped forward and handed it over. Rob lowered his arms, and the rest of the group followed suit. He was ready to reveal the next part of their plan and felt cautiously optimistic about what was next to come.
    “I would never risk my life or that of my friends without ensuring that we had… what was it you said? Leverage?”
    Arthur nodded. His eyes squinted, and his demeanor changed from jovial to suspicious in an instant. The clamor from the formerly reactionary crowd faded into silence.
    “Since the attack against our camp,” said Rob, “we’ve searched for others. Former residents, just like us. They joined us, and they’ve since infiltrated the town by the dozens.”
    Arthur’s lips pursed as he tilted his head skeptically. His men began looking in every direction, scanning the area for intruders.
    “Still don’t believe me?” Rob said. He held the radio to his mouth and spoke. “Group number one, you see us?”
    One of Arthur’s men lunged to grab the radio. Rob swung his arm away, and in his sweeping motion, knocked the man away, pitching him to the ground. “You know what to do,” he continued.
    A distant gunshot sounded, blasting out the streetlight right above Arthur. Panicked screams rose from the crowd, which seemed to fly to the ground in one mass movement. Arthur’s men scrambled to take cover. Rob and his group remained calmly huddled in position as Arthur jumped out of the way and hit the ground, sliding on the hard pavement and into the stair railing. His head jerked up as his beret flew off.
    “You just signed your own death warrant, you stupid bastard!” He seethed.
    “I don’t think so,” Rob said. “If your men so much as point their weapons at my group, my team of sharpshooters will pick you and them off, one by one.”
    Mila gripped his arm. Her hand was cold and trembling. Rob knew that the success of their plan hinged on the next crucial moments.
    Arthur stood up but carefully stayed low while moving behind a nearby cement waste receptacle. “You put one guy out there, and I’m supposed to believe you have an army with you?” He scoffed. “Don’t make me laugh.”
    Rob calmly held his hand up, pointing two fingers in the air. Another shot rang out from a different direction, striking a window in the building and sending the crowd below into a frenzy. Frightened and confused, the mob trampled over one another, trying to get away or hide, as Arthur’s men took cover and fired in rapid succession in the direction the shots came from. Rob took Mila by the hand, and they began moving quickly toward the cars, and in the confusion, nobody tried to stop them. Carlos and Ashlee were right behind them.  
    “I hope this shit works!” Carlos shouted over the shooting.
    “It may already have,”