Free The End Boxset: Postapocalyptic Visions of an Unstoppable Collapse by BJ Knights

Electromagnetic pulse. But what that really meant for everyone, she wasn't sure. She had never considered the full ranging effects of an EMP before, or how such an attack could be implemented. Detonation could have been achieved through a nuclear blast, a dirty bomb, or a geomagnetic storm. For starters, Alice wasn't an expert, but she had done some reading on EMPs in the past. As she peddled her son's bicycle down the street a good ten miles from his school, she wished she had done more reading on the matter. Alice weaved between vehicles that were no longer functional and huddled groups of confused drivers along the road. Most people were too distracted to even take notice of her. However, she didn't like the look of one tired and frustrated man who was leaning on the hood of his car. Their eyes met in a quick glance where Alice looked away first. His expression seemed to ask, How come you have a bike and I don't?
     
    Concerns of EMP attack threats had gained steam over the years.  This rather familiar doomsday scenario was a certainty in her mind. It could have been behind the explosion she heard earlier that day. Hell, it could have been the explosion she heard. If this was true, then they country was indeed under attack. Her husband, Randall, at home, waited for her to return. Once their power went out, and Alice realized their car wouldn't start, she grabbed her son Brian's bicycle against Randall's wishes and rode off into town to get her children and bring them home. She had quite a few miles to go to reach both schools, and wasn't even sure of the logistics of going into separate schools, getting both children, and taking them back to the house, primarily on foot. This wasn't going to deter her mission, however. It was something she had to do.  
     
    Brian and Tobias continued on foot throughout the woods. Their encounter with a crazy suicidal man who they unexpectedly came across had tired them. There wasn't much to do but walk, and now that they were deep into the woods, they had little option but to keep moving.
    “Man, I'm thirsty,” Brian said.
    Tobias, walking a few steps ahead, turned towards Brian. “Yeah, me too. We're almost there.”
    “This sucks, we should have brought some water,” Brian said 
    “We didn't have much time to go to the store if you remember,” Tobias said looking ahead.
    “Whatever.”
    “You're making this worse than it needs to be.”
    “How much longer?”
    “We should be coming to a clearing soon.”
    “Miles? Feet? Yards?”
    Tobias pointed ahead. “Just right ahead some.”
    Brian began to suspect that Tobias might not be too sure himself. He could never get a straight answer out of him. It was getting darker by the minute. They were woefully unprepared to be in the woods after dark. They had no light source, they had no food, and Brian was starting to think that they were lost.
     
    “It's getting dark, Tobias,” Brian said.
    “What's that?” Tobias asked pointing ahead, “Look, over there. What is that?”
    Brian squinted and tried to make out the foreign object ahead. Whatever it was, it was blue and concealed by trees. Tobias quickened his pace. Brian followed. As they grew closer, the figure revealed itself as a car. “Wow,” Tobias said, “This car must have been here forever.”
     
    It was a junk car. Or the remains of a junk car. Mainly just the fame. There were no windows, tires, doors, or seats. The faded blue was nearly rusted to the core. There was no denying that the car had been there for ages, but the main question was: how? How did the car get in the woods?
    Even with night time approaching and a questionable amount of distance remaining, the boys couldn't help but to take some time and examine the car. Tobias leaned in through the driver’s side and touched the vintage steering wheel. “Too bad this doesn't work, we could really use this now,” he said.
     
    “You see any roads around here, genius?” Brian said as he circled the car