Free The Pulse: An EMP Prepper Survival Tale by Roger Hayden Page B

For
that reason, they stored three car batteries on a shelf in the shed
along with ten five-gallon cans of reserve fuel. Frustrated, Mark
popped the hood and grabbed some tools to disconnect the dead
battery so he could install a replacement. He was confident that
the car would start in the end. If it didn't, then he would have to
rethink his entire strategy. He was not looking forward to riding
his bike to Janice's office in ninety-degree heat. He swapped out
the batteries and ensured that the replacement was tightly
connected. He sat at the wheel, placed the key in the ignition, and
paused. He really didn't want to find out. If the car didn't start,
he would be devastated. "Please," he said under his breath.
"Please..."
    He turned the key and felt the miraculous
roar of the Plymouth's engine.
    "Yes!" he shouted, hitting the steering wheel
with excitement.
    He revved the engine methodically then held
the gas pedal down. He had always kept the car below half a tank to
prevent corrosion. Now he had to fill it up with twenty gallons
worth of fuel reserve. Out of ten fuel cans, he would have six
left. He hoped that would get them to Milledgeville, if there were
no gas stations operating. He shut the door and idled out of the
shed onto a path that led him to the front yard. He waved again to
Mr. Harper and sped off down the street in hopes of finding Janice.
Mr. Harper waved back and smiled, still unaware of anything out of
the ordinary.

    Janice paced back and forth the parking lot in
front of her building, wrestling with her options. Without a car,
she didn't have many. She could walk home under the hot sun, or she
could wait, and hope that Mark would soon arrive. She thought of
their bug-out car, and wondered if there was any chance that it
still ran. Perhaps an EMP had nothing to do with anything going on.
Maybe it was all in her head. Her co-workers wandered dazed through
the parking lot examining their cars and trying to get their cell
phones working.
    The highway was a sight to behold. Commuters
walked down the highway like some kind of mass protest. Janice was
caught between a desire to maintain her routine, and the
realization that things were different now. She decided to wait.
The power company had to intervene at some point. They would have
the protocols in place to deal with such a thing. The government as
well. She thought of the hospitals, prisons, schools, gas stations,
and banks. There had to a plan to deal with a crisis of such
magnitude.
    She looked out toward the highway again and
there, right before her eyes, saw the results of an aerial
electromagnetic pulse. If an EMP had been launched, it meant
America was at war with someone. Janice thought about their home,
their investments, and lives. Her head spun with panic. She looked
back to the office building. More people had walked out, and were
chatting with each other. She could feel sweat building on her
back, under her shirt. Only ten feet away from her building, and
dehydration had kicked in. She walked back to the building and
stood under the shade of a nearby oak tree.

    Mark drove the Plymouth
through back roads to reach Janice's office. He wanted to avoid the
highway as much as possible. Too many cars as roadblocks, and too
many people. The back roads were not without their share of
wanderers and broken-down vehicles either. He felt no satisfaction
passing anyone , but
he had his hands full as it was. He was only a few miles from
Janice's building.
    The Plymouth crept down back roads, its loud
motor gained attention from everyone in its path. Mark drove
slowly; cautiously attentive to whatever obstacles might be in his
way. The paralyzed traffic created an eerie silence, pierced only
by the sound of Mark's car, which could be heard miles away.
    Janice heard the sound of Mark's Plymouth in
the distance. She was standing under a nearby Oak Tree next, as
many others convened outside the building. She saw the mysterious
Plymouth as it turned into the parking