Free Preppers of the Apocalypse - Part 2: Post Apocalyptic EMP Survival by Godsby Jim Page A

can wait until we stop for a break before you smoke that?”
     
    “Who
gave you the leader’s hat?” said Ellie.
     
    Ash
knew he wasn’t a leader, and never would be. He just didn’t have it in him. A
leader had to be someone who could think on behalf of others, not just himself.
Someone like his old sports coach, Louie Shamren. Louie coached their soccer
team from their first match all the way to winning the local championship, and
when Ash thought of leadership, he thought of him. He found out years later
that Louie’s marriage had broken to pieces while their soccer team flourished,
because the man spent so much time away from the house. Being a leader had its
price, and Ash wasn’t sure he wanted to pay it.
     
    “Times
like these, people need small comforts,” said Ellie. She tripped her head back,
closed her eyes and blew smoke out of her pursed lips.
     
    Ash
reached across from her with one hand and wound down her window, letting a
draught into the car. The air outside sucked the smoke from the car.
     
    “They
also need compromise,” he said.
     
    In
the back of the pick-up, Chad leaned forward.
     
    “So
what did you do to get the town so pissed at you, Ash?”
     
    Ash
was really starting to like the recruit. He was always smiling, always
enthusiastic. He alternated between being a bundle of energy who couldn’t sit
still, to flopping sloth-like on the seat as though his whole body had been
drained.
     
    “He
screwed the town out of every cent they had,” said Ellie.
     
    Thirty
minutes later the smoke spread thicker across the horizon, and as Ash pulled
the pick-up to a stop just short of the source, he felt his stomach sink. There
was debris strewn all across the plains, some of it smoking, all of it smashed.
It was obvious what had happened here. A plane had fallen from the sky and
smashed into the ground. The body of it, a hunk of twisted metal, completely
blocked the entrance to the Bolton tunnel.
     
    “Jesus,”
said Chad. “You would have thought that we’d hear this coming down.”
     
    “I
heard something,” said Ellie. “But I didn’t pay it any mind. We’ve had a lot to
think about.”
     
    Ash
kicked the car door open and stepped out. He felt his face start to get red,
and his shoulders were knotting up with tension. Rather than feeling sad, he
felt rage run through him. It seemed like everything was conspiring to stop him
getting back to Georgia, who was miles away and in trouble, and an EMP had
caused chaos everywhere and completely cut off communication.
     
    “Goddamn
it,” he said, and kicked a piece of debris in front of him.
     
    “So
what now, boss?” said Ellie, making sure that ‘boss’ was said sarcastically.
     
    Ash
took a deep breath. Getting angry did nothing but burn up calories. He had to
smooth over his thoughts and make them useful. How would his dad haver reacted
to this? He wouldn’t get mad. He’d think about how they could take something
good from the situation, and then he’d do something. Ash turned to his two
companions.
     
    “Look
for the drinks trolley,” he said. “If it survived the impact, there might be
some water bottles we can take.”
     
    “If
we find any airplane food I’m not interested,” said Chad. “Not even the
apocalypse can make me eat that shit.”
     
    The
three of them combed through the debris and tried to find anything they could
use. A lot of the wreckage had been smashed and twisted beyond recognition.
There were bodies amongst it, too, but Ash tried not to think about it. He
couldn’t afford to get emotional. Sentimentality did nothing for the dead and
helped the living even less.
     
    “Ash,”
said Ellie.
     
    He
looked over and saw that she had stopped. She stared at something on the ground
with her hand over her face. When Ash joined her, he saw that it was the body
of a little boy. This time he couldn’t hide the feeling of utter sadness that
filled him so much that he felt like just sagging to the